A major shake-up of British Sugar's UK operation, which will see three of its factories close, is giving workers at the firm's York plant a brighter future.

The company has announced plans to close its factories at Bardney, in Lincoln, Ipswich, and Kidderminster which will bring extra work to the 100-strong workforce at the site in Plantation Road, York.

The firm has said the move will not create any new jobs at the York site, but some workers from the closing factories may transfer to York from the closing factories.

Company spokesman Geoff Lancaster said: "It is regrettable in terms of the factories that are closing but from the point of view of other sites, clearly they are encouraged that it secures their future."

The company is redrawing its sugar beet catchment areas and York will start taking beet from a wider area.

York is one of the firm's core factories, serving major customers such as Nestl, and has been expanding in recent years.

British Sugar said the review is "designed to ensure the long-term competitiveness of the UK beet sugar industry".

Managing director Kevin Field said: "Our continued investment in our factories has given us considerable improvements in efficiency and capacity such that we are now able to process the whole UK crop in six factories rather than nine."

The Bardney and Ipswich plants will close in February and the Kidderminster site at the end of the 2001/02 harvest.

Updated: 10:56 Thursday, January 25, 2001