THE future of a Denbighshire creamery that closed to the loss of 97 jobs last year remains undecided as talks are on hold until after Brexit.

Arla Food’s future plans for its Llandyrnog creamery which has been mothballed since May are still on hold until a Brexit deal has been decided.

Llyr Gruffydd, AM for North Wales and shadow agriculture minister, met with representatives from the dairy producer in Cardiff on Thursday, February 21 to discuss the future of the creamery site and the wider issues affecting the milk sector in Wales.

Mr Gruffydd said: “The uncertainty caused by Brexit means that companies such as Arla are unfortunately not able to commit to any long-term planning when it comes to sites such as its Llandyrnog creamery. The site has been mothballed since last year and that will remain the case until Brexit is resolved.

“It’s clear that Arla shares my frustration at the current situation of potentially exiting the EU without a deal and the implications that has for the farming industry.” 

Mr Gruffydd added that Brexit had added already to uncertainty in the dairy sector and that it is not good news for former workers at Llandyrnog or the wider community:

"Although many of the workforce have found other jobs, which is a positive, I’m also very aware that some have had to move away from the area to do so,” he said. “I'm keen to ensure that we keep all possible options open in Llandyrnog given the important added value that food processing brings to the farming sector.

“We desperately need to move away from just extracting raw materials here in Wales, and growing our own processing capacity has to underpin a high-quality food and drinks sector in Wales.

"Welsh milk has a very high protein and fat content, which is ideal for cheese and butter. I'm keen to work with farmers and cooperatives such as Arla to move in that direction.”