A NEW malt roasting facility will be built near the River Tyne after it was given planning permission.

PureMalt Products Limited submitted proposals to East Lothian Council to create a malt roasting facility at its premises in Haddington.

One of the reasons the scheme came about was due to problems in terms of the deliveries of roasted malt.

According to the planning application’s design and access statement: “The proposed roasting facility will be used to roast malt, the main raw material for the various production processes on site.

“Malt is currently transported to the facility already roasted; however, a significant reduction in the availability of roasted malt from existing suppliers means that the facility requirements can no longer be met from external suppliers and there will be a shortfall in PureMalt requirements for 2015 production.” Currently, roasted malt is delivered by 25-tonne trucks, with 240 HGVs annually coming to and from the site.

The new development means a slight increase in the number of lorries, with an additional 20 HGVs coming each year.

Bruce Turner, managing director, said: “We are confident of continuing growth across our global marketplace and this major investment in new production will secure the quality and quantity of our roasted malt supplies to our extraction brewhouse.

“We are also pleased to be expanding our skilled workforce by an initial four jobs.” The company, which produces malt products which can be used in soups, confectionary and pet foods, is also taking steps to ensure noise is kept to a minimum on the building, which will be built over three months.

The design and access statement reads: “The roasters and ancillary equipment will be enclosed by a building; this will comprise a lower section of brick construction, up to approximately 2.4m above ground level with a brown corrugated composite cladding similar to that used in the other process buildings above that level.

“The building will include air vents to provide circulation for the fans; these will be placed on the southern elevation facing the PureMalt facility to ensure that any noise escaping from the vents is not directed towards the residential receptors to the north of the River Tyne.” The new facility, which will run 24 hours a day and every week of the year bar a two-week shutdown over the festive period, will be located to the north of the main building and next to the recently approved Anaerobic Digestion Plant.