Fridays is an independent third-generation family business employing nearly 300 people in Kent. From humble beginnings, we have grown over the past 60 years into one of the country’s largest free range egg producers and packers.

Our egg production meets the country’s high levels of animal welfare standards, and our approach has been recognised by the highly respected Compassion in World Farming. We are the only major UK egg producer to have achieved the ISO 14001:2000 accreditation for our approach to environmental management.

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From our headquarters at Chequer Tree Farm, near Cranbrook, we operate a number of other local farms, including two successful free range egg farms of a similar scale to what is being proposed at Wealden Woods.

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Our Combwell Farm near Lamberhurst is located almost directly opposite Forestry England’s Bedgebury National Pinetum, and Tolehurst Farm is located near Staplehurst. Both free range egg farms sit well in the wider landscape and are designed to be unobtrusive to people and visitors moving through the surrounding areas.

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Over the last 20 years we have planted more than 61,000 trees across some 81 hectares of Kent countryside, replacing ecologically low value farmland with maturing woodland and permanent pasture.

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We rear our own hens and our arable farms produce some of the wheat that feeds them, with the remainder being sourced locally. Our eggs go to UK supermarkets and the country’s catering and hospitality industry.

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We have made continual productivity improvements and efficiencies across our production sites, and invested heavily in renewable energy, with over 1.4MW of solar PV across seven sites, saving in excess of 390 tonnes of CO2 each year.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has focused attention on the need to reinforce the nation’s food security and renewed the nation’s love for baking. Investing in UK food production is vital.