Firstly, it would no longer have had to pay for electricity from npower, who built the facility. Secondly, it would have been able to sell electricity back to the National Grid. Aylesford Newsprint had been making paper on its current site since and formerly produced newsprint for The Times, Mirror and The Observer. Rumours abounded it was struggling but its multi-national owner had deep pockets to keep the business funded until one of its competitors went under.
There was hope Aylesford might hang on when its rival UPM near Liverpool closed its newsprint machine in November, costing more than jobs. Unlike Aylesford Newsprint, the mill owned by DS Smith at Kemsley produces paper for the more lucrative packaging market, as consumers buy more goods online which need to be posted to them.
It is a terrible situation to find yourself in. By comparison, packaging grows in line with GDP. Lots of people order things over the internet now which comes in boxes. Cheap imports and the strengthening pound were also a problem. Even if different decisions had been made, the writing may well have been on the wall for Aylesford Newsprint.
That same year, the company was sold to Martland Holdings. What should happen to the Aylesford Newsprint site? What the developers and politicians think. The company had been unprofitable for some time. The company bought , tonnes of recycled waste fibre each year to make , tonnes of recycled newsprint annually.
Tonbridge and Malling Council had two paper recycling contracts with the firm to take its kerbside collection and waste from its paper banks near supermarkets and leisure centres. Locally, the lanes for waste paper to be distributed go into disarray when somewhere like Aylesford Newsprint closes.
Unite regional officer Tim Elliot described the news as a "traumatic blow" to staff and the Kent economy. The firm had been manufacturing in Kent since and produced more than , tones of recycled newsprint every year. Tracey Crouch, Conservative MP for Chatham and Aylesford, requested a meeting with the business minister following the announcement. Labour's parliamentary candidate for Chatham and Aylesford, Tristan Osborne, said the "impact of this announcement will be felt across the local area".
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