Telford livestock business set for multi-million pound Scottish expansion

Pickstock is planning a new slaughterhouse facility near to the village of Ecclefechan, by Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway.

The firm currently employs around 300 people at its Hortonwood site in Hadley and has said in planning documents its new facility 200 miles away would create up to 60 full-time jobs.

The abattoir and meat processing business, which processes beef from across Europe, says the Scottish facility would reduce travel time for animals farmed north of the border that are currently transported to Telford.

The family firm has been in the beef industry for more than 40 years.

The Telford business is consulting with residents in Ecclefechan ahead of submitting a formal planning application to Dumfries and Galloway Council.

In a pre-application to the council, submitted by consultancy form Maze Planners on behalf of Pickstock, documents show the new Scottish abattoir is set to be constructed along the main A74 in the area and will include several processing plants, access and roads, along with drainage and parking facilities.

Nobody was available at Pickstock to comment further.