The organisation will cease beet processing at the site, which is the UK’s oldest sugar factory and one of only four left in the country, from the end of February next year.

All 104 employees are set to be affected by the proposal.

British Sugar has announced a proposal to cease beet processing at the Cantley sugar factory in Norfolk (Image: Denise Bradley)

British Sugar said operations will be consolidated at its three remaining factories in Bury St Edmunds, Newark and Wissington, which it said have enough capacity to produce the same volume of sugar as its current four-site operation.

The company said the proposal aims to improve efficiency, restore competitiveness and support the long-term future of the UK sugar industry.

Built on the banks of the River Yare in 1912, the Cantley factory produces an average of 130,000 tonnes of sugar every year, from around one million tonnes of beet grown by farmers in East Anglia.

The plume of steam rising from the factory's chimney has since become a regular sight on the Broads skyline (Image: Newsquest)

British Sugar has said all Cantley growers will be invited to continue growing beet for the 2027/28 campaign and beyond.

But the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Sugar, which represents sugar beet growers in the UK, said it was “extremely disappointed” by the proposal.

Kit Papworth, chairman of the NFU Sugar board, said: “While we are pleased with British Sugar’s commitment that no growers will be financially disadvantaged for the 2027/28 crop, we are calling for this to be made permanent, to give affected growers the confidence to invest for the long-term future of the sector.

Kit Papworth, chairman of the NFU’s sugar board (Image: NFU)

“Growers supplying Cantley have supported the industry for decades and will rightly be very concerned about the proposed closure and potential impact on their farming businesses.”

Over the past few decades, British Sugar has reduced its operational footprint from 18 factories to its current four.

“We believe this closure is also a........

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