Over 100 jobs are at risk after British Sugar announced plans to shut one of its four factories.

More than 100 jobs could be at risk after British Sugar announced plans to shut one of its four factories. The firm is proposing closing its facility at Cantley in the Norfolk Broads to "improve efficiency and support the long-term future" of the UK sugar industry. The Norfolk site was the first sugar-processing factory to open in the UK and has been in operation for more than a century but it could close from the end of February 2027. Jerome Mayhew, Conservative MP for Broadland and Fakenham, called the news "devastating" and said it could have wider cost implications for Norfolk farmers. Cantley's sugar beet processing factory has been in operation for more than 100 years A consultation will be held over the proposals, which would concentrate British Sugar's beet processing operations at Wissington in west Norfolk, Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk and Newark in Nottinghamshire. Keith Packer, managing director at British Sugar, said: "This proposal has not been taken lightly. "It follows a thorough review of the business and reflects a combination of external pressures, including low average European sugar prices, high energy costs and a market-wide, long-term gradual decline in volumes over time."