A FOOD ingredients company which has been in a village for 130 years could move to a new site in a bid to expand.

EDME has had its factory based in Mistley High Street since 1884.

But plans are being put forward for a new purpose-built factory on land next to the A120 in Horsley Cross.

If approved, EDME would take over the land on one side of the road, which was part of the proposed Tendring Europark development.

It has permission for a series of separate business units, but a new planning permission is set to be put forward to Tendring Council within weeks.

EDME managing director Metin Fevzi said: “Over the years where we have built up the company we’ve had to shoehorn in bits and bobs.

“As food production industries go it is ineffective and affects our competitiveness.

“The buildings here are piecemeal and ineffective, we want to make it one big building that will help us move products more effectively.

“People want to see something done on that land and see more jobs coming to the area.

“We have quite an ambitious plan to more than double in the next few years, including in terms of production.

“One of the things we are looking to do is make space for products we don’t do at the moment and some of this is processes we don’t do at the moment.”

The current EDME site is three and a half acres whereas the new space would be ten acres for the factory and parking as well as more space for the business units.

Once vacant the Mistley site would be sold but the iconic EDME chimney is listed and would be protected as well another historic building close by.

EDME makes flakes and flours from locally grown grain as well as products using of seeds and pulses,

Mr Fevzi added: “We are growing at quite a rate now. We are growing both in the UK and across the world.

“And we are also looking at new products too for the latter part of this year and next year. In order to do that we probably have to move.”

The planning application is expected to take up to a year before a decision is made and Mr Fevzi predicts the build would take a year to complete.