Environment secretary hails Thanet Earth success

A series of giant greenhouses in Kent have been given a glowing endorsement by the man in charge of Britain's environment.

Environment secretary Hilary Benn visited the enormous Thanet Earth site near St Nicholas-at-Wade on Monday to call for a "radical rethink" of food production.

He warned that unless the country changes its attitude towards waste and communities begin to grow their own produce, food shortages could become a serious issue in years to come.

But he hailed Thanet Earth - a hi-tech complex which uses revolutionary farming technologies and sophisticated growing techniques to grow cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers - as a model for the future.

Mr Benn said: "We need to consider what the food system will look like 20 years down the line and what must happen to get there. We need everyone in the food system to get involved, from farmers and retailers to the health service, schools and consumers.

"Thanet Earth shows you can grow the products we want to pick up in our supermarkets in a way that is sustainable. Production here takes place all year round, requires much less water than traditional farming techniques and does away with pesticides and insecticides - it's very impressive."

Thanet Earth, which cost more than £80million to build, employs more than 500 people and produces enough surplus electricity to power 50,000 homes.

Steve McVickers, managing director of Thanet Earth, said: "It's a great endorsement for us and, from meeting the envrionment secretary, it seems we tick all the right boxes.

"This could be a blueprint for similar schemes elsewhere in the UK, so congratulations to everyone in Thanet for backing this exciting project in the first place."

Source: Kent Online