THE creation of jobs in Rosyth may be chickenfeed but they represent "the single biggest investment in this sector in the UK in the last 20 years".

2Agriculture Ltd, a leading poultry feed manufacturer, want to build a state-of-the-art facility on land to the south of St Margaret Way.

Food for chickens, turkeys and ducks will be produced, stored and transported from a new agricultural feed mill at Rosyth Waterfront which would operate 24 hours a day.

WYG Planning Ltd, acting on behalf of the firm, said: "The agricultural feed mill is essential to support the agricultural industry in Fife and beyond and represents the single biggest investment in this sector in the UK in the last 20 years.

"Once constructed, a state-of-the-art production site will be created with the capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes of poultry feed per year.

"The applicant's current feed mill, located just outside of Edinburgh, will cease operating and it is considered that the proposed relocation of operations to Rosyth is a more sustainable option in a more appropriate location."

If approved by Fife Council, the mill will be around 70 metres long and 42m in height, with a single-storey warehouse attached to the side of it.

There will be four large grain storage silos, each 20m high and eight metres wide, with a small office and welfare building, two weighbridges and cabins, a vehicle wash and maintenance building and a diesel truck refuelling facility.

2Agriculture's proposal requires 35-40 car parking spaces and 30 lorry spaces.

Raw materials would be brought to the site and stored in silos, before being ground and mixed with liquid ingredients, heated, treated and pelleted to meet the customer's requirements.

The finished material is then transferred to the on-site storage bins ready for distribution.

WYG added: "Overall, the development will provide a range of employment on site including technicians, engineers, cleaners, yardmen and weighbridge operators, management and administration, drivers, transport managers and vehicle technicians and cleaners."

The brownfield site at the waterfront was chosen because of its proximity to the road network and access will be from Livesay Road.

The firm said there's likely to be 25-40 lorry movements per day, with the delivery of raw materials, and a further 32 lorry movements per day to dispatch the finished products.

The site will be operational 24 hours a day and the proposals include two 20m-high floodlights.

The nearest residential property is around 400m away and the agents said odour nuisance was expected to be "negligible" and there would be "minimal" nuisance from the additional lighting.

They added that the mill would be constructed from the "latest technology" to achieve an energy-efficient process.

The council has been asked to consider if an environmental impact assessment was required and a full planning application is expected soon.