Gloucester’s Unilever factory — where all of the company’s UK ice creams including best-loved brands like Wall’s are manufactured — is set for a major upgrade, with plans approved to create new a mix plant facility at its Barnwood site.
The London-headquartered, global consumer goods company has been granted permission by Gloucester City Council to create new buildings which will allow it to bring its manufacturing facilities up to date, according to local democracy reporter Carmelo Garcia.
The site off Corinium Avenue has been used for ice cream production for 60 years, with significant investment having been made in the 1980s to enable all of Unilever’s UK ice cream manufacturing to take place there.
Today, more than 500 hundred people are directly employed at the factory along with additional contractors, manufacturing renowned brands including Ben and Jerry’s, Cornetto, Magnum and other Wall’s products like Twister and Calippo.
Unilever says that 40 years on from its investment in the Gloucester premises, some of its buildings, facilities and infrastructure are ‘nearing their end of life and need replacing’.
The scheme will involve creating new buildings at the site for pasteurisation and homogenisation; clean-in-place; and an ingredient tank farm, as well as relocating its powder silo area and adding a link bridge.
Gary Dickens, who spoke on behalf of Unilever at a planning committee meeting on April 1 2025, said the proposal represents ‘a multi-million pound investment’ which would ‘secure its operations in Gloucester for the foreseeable future’.
Councillors unanimously supported the scheme, recognising Unilever as a ‘major employer’ in the city and praising the potential to lessen its environmental impact through upgrading to modern facilities.
