Coca-Cola, Wakefield: Nitrogen plant to be built at Yorkshire Coca-Cola factory

The company said installing a facility to produce the gas would be used in the production of soft drinks and reduce the number of lorries making deliveries the site.

Wakefield Council approved the scheme which includes installing a generation plant, to include four 3.5m-high tanks, next to the factory at Wakefield 41 Industrial Estate, in Outwood.

A statement prepared on behalf of drinks giant Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) said: “As part of the manufacturing process, CCEP use nitrogen which is delivered by tankers to the site from external suppliers.

“The proposed nitrogen generation plant will reduce the number of deliveries, with obvious environmental and cost benefits.

“The proposed plant will incorporate sophisticated systems for the detection and warning of nitrogen leaks.

“The location of the plant is within the existing site boundary, which is a fully fenced site with 24 hour operation, with access only via a security office.

“No additional measures are considered necessary.”

Two residents living close to the factory objected to the application after it was submitted in January.

One complained that the building was an “eyesore” and said they had been impacted by “constant noise” from the factory.

Approving the proposal, a planning officer’s report said: “Due to the siting, positioning, size and scale of the proposal it is considered not to have significant impact on the amenities of other surrounding residential properties.

“The scheme is needed to improve the manufacturing process on the site and the principle of development is acceptable.”

The West Yorkshire site, which has been in operation since 1989, is the biggest soft drinks plant in Europe.

It employs around 500 workers and produces around one third of the drinks the company sells in Britain.

The plant spans an area similar to the size of 15 football pitches and produces 420,000 cans per hour.

Its products include Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Monster and Relentless.

In September 2023, CCEP announced a £31m investment at its Wakefield manufacturing site.

The company said at the time that it would help develop a new canning line, which it planned to be operational by 2024 and capable of producing 2,000 cans per minute.

Infrastructure upgrades were also planned to optimise the factory for “future innovations” on site.