HAULAGE firm Wincanton Plc says it will retain ‘limited operations’ in the town – after a union claimed it was closing its last facility.

The company currently has a depot at Hawkers Bridge, but a major contract with dairy giant Müller is set to end at the end of September, meaning staff are being transferred to a new employer.

The move prompted the Unite union to claim it meant ‘the closure of the existing Wincanton depot’.

However, Wincanton Plc has told your New Blackmore Vale it will be retaining ‘limited operations’ in the town – though did not specifically detail what that entailed.

The company did say the Hawkers Bridge site would currently remain a Wincanton Plc facility.

It is understood limited administrative facilities that remained in Wincanton – dealing with the Müller contract – are being wound down as the contract ends, with other duties already being carried out at the firm’s headquarters, in Chippenham, Wiltshire.

Numbers of any administrative staff remaining at the Hawkers Bridge depot have not been confirmed.

A Wincanton spokesperson said: “Our contract with Müller is continuing as normal until the end of September.

“While operations with Müller will then cease, limited operations at the depot in the town of Wincanton will continue.

“All colleagues working on the contract will be transferred via TUPE to Müller, and we are supporting them fully throughout this process.”

TUPE is the process of transferring staff to a new employer – in this case, Müller.

Yesterday, Müller confirmed it was taking over collection logistics currently handled by Wincanton Plc and that it was working towards a ‘seamless transition’ in the coming weeks.