BARNSLEY Council bosses paid a visit to Ardagh Glass last week to learn more about the challenges the sector currently faces.

Leader of the council Sir Steve Houghton, executive director for growth and sustainability Matt O’Neill and Enterprising Barnsley’s Ben Hawley were all on hand to travel to the Monk Bretton site.

They were given a guided tour before sitting down to discuss the future of glass packaging manufacturing with key staff and Dr Nick Kirk, technical director for British Glass.

Sir Steve said: “I’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who made our visit to Ardagh Glass Packaging such a pleasure.

“The discussions we had were intriguing and have given us a better insight into what we need to do to support and future-proof the logistics and manufacturing sectors, which we outlined as one of the three key missions in our new Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy.

“Those sectors play a critical role in the borough in supporting local employment, nurturing talent, and in providing better-paid ‘good jobs’ and promoting more inclusive, flexible and meaningful ‘good work’.

“It’s imperative for the health and success of our economy that they can continue to thrive and provide those opportunities for Barnsley residents, and we’ll do everything we can to help them.”

Ardagh Glass Packaging’s Barnsley site employs over 500 people, making glass packaging for well-known brands such as Coca Cola, Smirnoff Vodka, and Bombay Sapphire.

Plant manager Lee Mills added: “It was a pleasure to have meaningful discussions with Councillor Houghton, Matt, and Ben.

“We truly appreciate the time they took to understand the challenges brought about by the EPR tax.

“As a major local employer and long-standing part of the community, we value our strong working relationship with the council, and it’s encouraging to see that partnership continue to grow.”