Longridge cheese firm Butlers unveils plans for the future a year on from devastating fire

Firefighters continuing to tackle the fire at Butlers on Tuesday afternoon Pic: Mark Ashmore — The fire tore through the site at Shay Lane, Longridge, last November. Pic: Mark Ashmore

Just over a year on from a devastating fire that razed its Longridge packing site and offices to the ground, Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses has lodged plans for a new cheese maturation facility.

In a planning application to Preston City Council, Butlers is proposing to build a new warehouse and office space at its dairy at Wilson Fields Farm, Inglewhite.

There are currently no plans for the former packing site on Shay Lane, Longridge, which was the scene of the inferno on 6 November last year.

In a blog on its website, they have detailed their future plans and reflected on a tumultuous 12 months.

It says: “We have much to reflect on – and plenty to look forward to. The past 12 months have been some of the most challenging in our history as a family business, yet thanks to the hard work, resilience, and commitment of our team, we have continued to pioneer and innovate.

“Since the loss of Longridge, we have managed to operate entirely from the dairy but with limited space we are unable to mature our cheese on site. This means extra wagons to take our cheese to and from the dairy and extra milk tankers as we are unable to use all our milk.

“We understand this is disruptive for our community, and it is tough for our team as well, who have days where they feel like they’re running a marathon in clogs.”

There are currently no plans for the former packing site in Longridge.

The company goes onto say that it is looking to drive forward from Wilson Fields.

It adds: “We have been discussing [our] vision and our plans with Preston City Council since the summer and have submitted a formal planning application to build a state-of-the-art cheesemaking campus at the dairy that is inspired by the land and be a melting pot for innovation and ideas.

“The proposed campus will be very different to the Longridge site. Our building footprint will be about half the size, designed in harmony with the land and largely out of sight from the road.

“We will incorporate the latest technologies and processes to make the most of every metre, and by maturing and packing our cheese on-site, we expect to reduce our road traffic and food miles by approximately 50 per cent, making our operation much more sustainable.

“Our goal is to have the dairy campus built and operational within two years of the fire. It is an ambitious target, but achieving it is crucial for us to be a sustainable business and remain an integral part of our local rural economy.”

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