Princess Anne THE PRINCESS Royal is to officially open a Westbury dairy plant almost a year after it was saved from administration.

Princess Anne will cut the ribbon at Westbury Dairies on September 6 after chairman Sir Ben Gill outlines the company's future business strategy.

Formerly known as United Milk, the plant on the Northacre Industrial Park hit the headlines when it went into receivership last August. A consortium formed of co-operatives Dairy Farmers of Britain, First Milk and Milk Link took over control on October 1 and the company now says it is doing 'extremely well'.

Sir Ben said next month's royal visit will be a major boost for staff and producers.

He said: "We are delighted The Princess Royal has agreed to officially open Westbury Dairies.

"The princess had originally been booked to open the plant last year before we got into trouble. I asked her again and she was very happy to oblige."

Sir Ben said Westbury Dairies' business strategy would be crucial in restoring confidence in the UK dairy industry.

He said: "This marks an important occasion for the business as we take on the challenge of seeking new markets and delivering more sustainable returns to dairy producers in the new post CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) reform era.

"The position now is that we need to put a mark in the sand. The plant has had its problems, but we are going forward to develop into a company that will be a major part of the whole UK dairy industry.

"We are a major employer in Westbury and Wiltshire and people need to know what's going on. Staff will be able to bring their families along on the day and look round."

Sir Ben admitted some staff 'are a bit worried' about the future and said the business strategy would reassure them.

The news of the princess' visit comes almost a year after the former United Milk plant went into receivership and three months after it caused fresh controversy.

In June Westbury Dairies announced that 11 operations technicians, one sixth of its workforce, were being made redundant.

The company said the staff had been on a six-month probation period and were no longer needed now the plant was running more efficiently.

But Edington resident Colin Hutton told the Wiltshire Times: "I was promised the dairy was doing well and that this was a secure job. I now regret taking it up, as do the other 10, including one man who had been employed at the same place for 20 years."