NEW flavours of ice cream will be created and trialled at a production building in Carmarthenshire if planning approval is given.
Frank’s Ice Cream wants to build a new production innovation centre at its base near Ammanford, which would also serve as an ice cream parlour for the public.
The new building at Capel Hendre Industrial Estate would comprise ice cream-making equipment on the ground floor plus an office and a glazed production area which could be viewed by customers in a factory shop-style retail area.
The first floor would feature a meeting room and viewing area to the production floor below.
A planning statement submitted as part of the application by Frank’s Ice Cream said the building would be “a mixture of concrete panelling and translucent glazing providing a glistening ice-like aesthetic”.
The new ice creams would be made on site prior to being produced on a larger scale at the company’s main factory.
It is expected that the new facility would employ 12 people and create a post for a Cardiff University food business school graduate.
An additional seven parking spaces, pedestrian access and cycle spaces would be created.
Frank’s Ice Cream, which dates from 1920, has previously extended its operations at the industrial estate.
Carmarthenshire Council planning officers are assessing the new proposals.
A transport statement on behalf of the company said: “It is anticipated that the traffic generated by this use will be modest in comparison to that generated by the main factory unit and the wider industrial estate and so will create no significant impact in terms of the operation of the surrounding highway network.”
Dino Dallavalle, product development manager at Frank’s Ice Cream, said of the proposal: “The new production innovation centre will give us the opportunity to engage with our local customers and increase our brand locally, which is where we started from.”
He added: “We want to develop new ideas for our major supermarket customers.”
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