Dyson Farming

Multi-million pound strawberry growing glasshouse

Client: Dyson Farming, Lincolnshire

Project overview:

• Design and planning of six hectare glasshouse
• Groundworks – removal of 75,000 sq m of top soil
• Install 600 concrete piles for foundations
• Construction of glasshouse
• Installation of energy-saving and light pollution screens
• Usage of LED lighting systems and flowering lamps
• Add self-sufficient rain-water harvesting system
• Installation of biogas converter to generate C02
• Design and install of Combined Heat & Power (CHP) system
• Design and build of 1,500sqm packing and cold store facility
• Construction of portal frame building to house staff and facilities

Scope of our work:

Designing and building a highly self-sufficient site in terms of water and energy usage was fundamental to the ‘sustainability’ values on this exciting project.

To do this – and maximise flower and fruit growth – we constructed a glasshouse packed with energy-saving LED lighting to extend day length. The onsite anaerobic digester Combined Heat & Power (CHP) system also provides major energy savings.

During the nine-month build, the gigantic glasshouse required 62,700m2 of glass, 266 tons of steel, 140 tons of aluminium, 1,800 galvanised steel posts, 282,000 aluminium roof glazing bars and 3,247 ventilation windows.

Having managed and overseen the entire process, from design and construction to handover, we were thrilled to be involved at every step.

This included the construction of a 1,500sqm packing and cold store facility, where strawberries are prepared for delivery, and the addition of a portal-frame building with offices and facilities for staff.

The Results

Powered with renewable electricity and heat from an anaerobic digester, the six-hectare Dyson Farming glasshouse is the first of its kind.

For sheer size, complexity, sophistication and green credentials, there is nothing else like it in the UK horticulture market.

The facility has enabled Dyson Farming to extend the strawberry growing season to around nine months – producing 750 tonnes of strawberries (from 700,000 plants) every year.

Eventually, consumers will be able to enjoy British-grown strawberries from early spring to late Autumn, when they would traditionally be in short supply.

This is a significant step for a fresh British grower with demanding sustainability targets.