THE USE of Droitwich brine for salt production for food is due to be discussed by Wychavon District Council’s executive board tomorrow (Wednesday).
Working with the town’s Droitwich Brine Heritage Group, local businesses, including Churchfield Farms, Ice Cream, Barn and Dairy, have been identified which could use the historic brine water to create edible salt to ensure the Spa’s salty past becomes a real part of its future.
A report into the venture centres around the active brine well at Tower Hill which already has the pump and pipework in place so no capital investment would be needed.
Wychavon, which owns the pumping rights to the brine, is due to consider the matter at tomorrow’s meeting and if agreed the decision would allow the extraction of small amounts of brine water for culinary salt, subject to Environment Agency agreement.
Droitwich has long been famous for salt production and the underground source in the town has been used for at least 2,000 years.
Currently the brine is only used for the lido so the move would extend the use of this natural resource.
The high salt content of the brine means less energy is needed to evaporate the water and produce the salt.
At its peak, Droitwich was producing 120,000 tons of salt per year. This latest project would be on a much smaller scale led by ‘The Droitwich Salt Company Limited’ – a recently created Community interest Company (CIC).
Wychavon would supply the brine to the CIC for a low price – just enough to cover the cost of a small amount of officer time to inspect the well from time to time and a low amount of electricity.
Coun Richard Morris, Wychavon’s portfolio holder for economy growth and housing, said “This is a real opportunity for Droitwich’s Spa heritage to be put firmly on the map.
“By creating a distinctive salt brand we could connect back to Salt Fest, the food festival and the heritage of the town.
“I feel confident this could do great things for Droitwich Spa.”
Michael Davies, from Churchfields, said: “We see this as a fantastic opportunity to use locally produced Droitwich Spa Salt in our expanding product range giving us even more provenance.”
Tests are still being carried out but it is looking likely that this purest of the salts will be suitable for food use and could be used in the very near future.
