A Kenilworth abattoir's 'major expansion' has been given the green light by Warwick District Council.

Farmers Fresh has been granted planning permission to build a new refrigeration unit which could store up to 1,500 extra lamb carcasses.

Also included in the plans is a new two-storey office block, with the current offices set to be expanded and converted into more fridge space.

Whilst three objections were made to the Rouncil Lane scheme - including one from Warwickshire County Council's landscape team - the application was approved under delegated powers.

Plans were first revealed in November 2021 with Famers Fresh saying the expansion was needed just to stay in business.

Company directors said the application should be approved because of the "very special circumstances" caused by new, post-Brexit laws.

Adding that they could not "simply pick it [the abattoir] up and place onto any business park".

"Because of new rules the timing between slaughter and sending out has become much longer," a company spokesperson said to Nub News.

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"So that makes it harder to produce stuff, as it comes in the front door and isn't going straight out the back door.

"It is a major expansion that is necessary to keep this business running. We are not doing it to increase profits, it is just to keep the wheels turning."

Farmers Fresh said it exports around 85 per cent of its lambs, equating to 400,000 carcasses annually.

The abattoir, which slaughters over 2,000 lambs per day, claims to be one of the top five lamb meat exporters in the country by volume.