Welcome
Thank you for taking the time to visit our website about our plans to repurpose Shotton Mill at Deeside Industrial Park. The purpose of this website is to share information about our plans and more about us as developers over the consultation period.
Public Consultation
Eren Group is holding a pre-application consultation on additional plans for a new tissue machine facility with ancillary structures’ at Shotton Paper Mill, Deeside. The consultation will last from Monday 13th May 2024 for 28 days.
Shotton Mill (the Site) has an extant planning permission for ‘Redevelopment and expansion of former UPM Shotton Paper Mill site comprising 82 hectares of new paper factory buildings and processing plant and associated landscaping, offices, access and parking’ under application reference FUL/000011/22. Subsequent discharge of condition applications have been submitted relating to these applications and development has commenced on part of the Site.
Having reviewed their requirements and development programme, the Applicant realises thepotential of having a tissue machine facility on the Main Site (South of Weighbridge Road), in close proximity to the Paper Machine. Currently the Site has approval for three tissue machines on the A4 Site (north of Weighbridge Road) under Application Ref FUL/000011/22.
The proposed development would replace the approved corrugating facility which shall be located within the wider site at a later period, under a new application.
The proposal is for the upward extension of an existing building located within the main site of Shotton Mill to host a tissue machine alongside the erection of small-scale associated structures/facilities that are supportive of manufacturing operations.
The Application Site currently attains consent for the demolition on existing structures on the Site to accommodate a new corrugating building. The corrugating building involved the demolition of all the existing buildings/structures within the Application Site. It has been identified that the tissue machine can make use and repurpose the underutilised structures to accommodate the tissue machine and its associated facilities, making a positive contribution to wider local-national sustainability policy.
In summary, the scheme consists of:
- Pulp storage area,
- Bale handling building,
- Pm2 building extension,
- Reel storage building,
- Canopy 1,
- Canopy 2,
- Pipe Bridge,
- Transition Tunnel.
To access the related planning documents, please click here.
Previous Consultations
Established in 1969, Eren Holding is a family run business with headquarters based in Istanbul, Turkey. We are highly experienced in paper manufacturing and other industrial commodities, employing over 8,000 people globally with an annual turnover in excess of €3.9 billion and total assets of over €3.1 billion. Our plans to repurpose and expand Shotton Mill will deliver a market leading operation, with the newest innovations and technologies, making the Mill an exemplar flagship facility in the UK and Europe.
Eren Holding undertook a public consultation on the expansion of the Mill last year, between Monday 21st March 2022 and Tuesday 19th April 2022. The consultation received 31 responses with the majority expressing support for the plans to expand and repurpose operations at Shotton Mill. Flintshire County Council subsequently granted planning permission for the following:
- Redevelopment of the main site and development of the expansion site, and;
- Piling works
We are now bringing forward two proposals to deliver a boiler building and a new Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP). One application for a boiler building will be submitted to Flintshire County Council and the application for the CHP will be submitted to the Welsh Government.
Eren Holding initially consulted on the CHP in March 2022. Since then, the plans have been updated. Eren Holding is now consulting on the amended plans.
Ahead of submitting the planning applications, we launched two consultations. One for the Flintshire County Council applications, and one for the Welsh Government application.
The two consultations were:
Flintshire County Council application ran from Tuesday 21st November 2023 – Tuesday 19th December 2023 and is now closed
Welsh Government application is still active, running from Tuesday 21st November 2023 – Tuesday 2nd January 2024 and is now closed
Following the end of the consultation, Eren Holding will review all comments received and incorporate feedback provided into the final plans, where possible, before submitting a planning application.
You can find more information about Eren Holding at: https://www.erenholding.com.tr/en/home
Shotton Mill’s History
Shotton Mill was founded in 1983 and the Mill, until recently, produced newsprint paper. Due to the decline in newspaper consumption, the Mill has been sold for the wholesale redevelopment of the Site, which includes expansion into previously undeveloped areas of the Site.
Operations are continuing at the Mill, even though newsprint production has ceased: these include processing of recovered materials from collections around the UK; energy generation from the biomass facility; and preparation of wood for the biomass plant. In addition, administration and engineering staff are still based at the Mill.
Shotton Mill employed around 530 people directly during the height of production in the 1990s, but as newsprint demand declined the numbers reduced to around 190 at the point that Newsprint manufacture ceased on site. This represents a large skilled and experienced workforce that Eren Holding intends to retain during the conversion of the Site to new product production. Eren Holding has ensured that all existing employees’ have been retained during the transition to new ownership.
Our Proposals - Overview
Our plans will continue Eren Holding’s ambition to make Shotton Mill one of the UK’s largest and most advanced technology paper mills, with a paper production capacity of 750,000 tonnes per year of containerboard and 210,000 tonnes per year of tissue.
The first application is for a 69 Mwe Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plant, that is classified as a Development of National Significance (DNS) and will be considered by the Welsh Government.
The CHP plant will allow Shotton Mill to be more fuel efficient and limit fuel waste. CHPs utilise heat, which is a by-product of the electricity generation process, and turn it into electricity. By using the waste heat, the CHP facility can reach efficiency ratings in excess of 90%, compared to gas power stations, which in the UK range between 49% and 52%.
In the future we aim to be able to utilise Hydrogen gas as a fuel source and Shotton Mill is currently active in a number of projects to enable Hydrogen supply both to Shotton Mill and the Deeside area. The CHP design has allowed for 20% Hydrogen (H2) within the fuel blend. Design allows for component replacement to fire 100% H2 once available to site.
The application for a boiler building, which will be submitted to Flintshire County Council for consideration, will be large enough to accommodate the future Combined Heat and Power facility (CHP) and contain an interim boiler ahead of the CHP obtaining planning consent.
The boiler will be used to generate steam to the already permitted containerboard & tissue machines in the initial start-up phase until the Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP) is operational. Once the CHP is operational, the interim boiler will become a back-up boiler and only used during periods when the CHP is shut down for maintenance or existing Biomass Boiler is offline.
Learn more
To learn more about our specific proposals, please use the menu to visit the individual sections for the distinct planning applications to Flintshire Council and the Welsh Government. To get started with the applications to be submitted to Flintshire County Council, click the button below.
Contact Us
Thank you for taking the time to visit this website. We hope you found the information useful.
If you have any questions, you can contact a member of the development team by:
Calling us on our dedicated community information line (Monday to Friday, 9.00am-5.30pm): 0333 358 0502
Emailing us at: shottonmillconsultation@havingyoursay.co.uk
Writing to us: Shotton Mill Limited (or Shotton Mill Limited CHP), c/o Lexington Communications, Third Floor Queens House, Queen Street, Manchester M2 5HT