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Businessman Simon Howie confident his £2m Dunning solar array scheme can prevent job cuts

Simon Howie.
Simon Howie.

A Perthshire businessman is confident that a £2m solar array scheme can avoid the need to cut jobs.

Simon Howie says the annual energy bills at his butchery business in Dunning are rising from £400,000 to £2m.

He told The Courier in October that he has been left with no choice but to pass on increased costs to customers.

Now, the entrepreneur has submitted a planning application for a £2m ground-mounted solar array at his firm’s base at Findony Farm, off the B934.

His supporting statement states how important it is that Perth and Kinross planners give the go-ahead.

It says: “Simon Howie Butchers Ltd has the opportunity to avoid cutting jobs by reducing their output with the installation of an integrated heat system fed from the proposed 2MW solar array located immediately to the west of the factory on owned land.”

Aim is to create jobs

The factory has 110 employees. Many of these live locally and some have served more than 20 years.

Mr Howie says he plans to recruit more staff if the council green-lights his proposal.

Mr Howie wants to expand. Image: Simon Howie.

“We are working very hard to avoid any losses in our headcount,” he said.

“To do that we are going to make a big investment in renewable energy on our plant and I don’t foresee us making any headcount reductions.

“In fact, I think we will be increasing them because I am confident we will get the support of the local authority to do it.

“Therefore, we will have a competitive advantage over our competitors and we will be increasing our headcount, not reducing it.

“We will spend £2 million putting in solar energy, a battery and also dumping power into our water system to heat our water, therefore reducing our gas costs.

“So I am not envisaging any headcount reductions, providing we get the support from the local authority to go ahead with the solar arrays.”

Area would be 1.35 hectares

The butchery began in 1986 and has since expanded into its current 80,000 square-foot factory within the 130-hectare Findony Farm.

The area of the proposed development, including access and connection back to the plant room, is 1.35 hectares.

The supporting statement added: “As the site is an area of grazing land that is used to cyclical disruption, there are no areas of proposed development where any disruption of established habitat is anticipated.

“There are no areas of unused field margins within the area of the proposed development.”

Healthy profits

Accounts for Simon Howie Butchers Limited show a 13% increase in turnover for the year to December 2021, to £21.6 million.

It also recorded a £4.1m pre-tax profit, up from £3.6m the year before.

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