Crisp factory plan for two-tonne per hour production

A crisp factory will be able to fry tonnes of snacks a day under plans to build a new warehouse.

KP Snacks in Billingham, County Durham, has applied to Stockton Council for planning permission for a building which would house a heat exchanger used to warm up cooking oil for production of about two tonnes of finished product per hour.

In planning documents, the firm described the project as "a natural expansive progression on the wider factory site" making the production process more sustainable.

The factory, on Cowpen Lane Industrial Estate, employs about 800 people and is KP's largest manufacturing site.

The project includes demolishing two small disused outbuildings to make way for the new warehouse for the heat exchanger to upgrade existing equipment.

Planning documents said: "The new equipment will support the continued operation of the Teesside site by providing a reliable and controlled source of heat for the frying process.

"Replacing the existing equipment with a modern system will help maintain production efficiency, improve process control and support the long-term reliability of the manufacturing operation."

The proposed building on Macklin Avenue would cover about 1,895sq ft (176sqm) with two 46ft (14m) high ventilation stacks.

Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram and listen to Radio Tees on BBC Sounds.