Dales firm revises factory plan to safeguard cheese production

The scheme to transform the Wensleydale Creamery was given the go-ahead by members of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority at the end of last year in a move that was heralded as vital to the local economy.

But the managing director of the creamery, David Hartley, told the Yorkshire Post yesterday that the re-development of the site in the market town of Hawes will now be carried out over three stages.

The exact timescale and details for each of the development’s phases has yet to be finalised, but members of the park authority will consider the revised proposals at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday next week.

It had been hoped that work would start in January next year and be completed in about nine months under the original proposals.

The initial plans would have seen production shifted to the creamery’s second site in Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, while the re-development was carried out, but Mr Hartley admitted that the temporary move would have “proved costly and an inefficient use of limited resources”.

He added: “This phased re-development plan would allow cheese production to continue at Hawes throughout the development and in so doing offer a more cost-effective project. We are fully committed to funding this project to ensure continued production of Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese in Wensleydale for generations to come.

“This vision for our new creamery building would achieve this goal and be both sustainable and environmentally-friendly, which is of the upmost importance to us as a business born in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.”

One of the most contentious issues surrounding the initial planning application which was approved by the park authority in December were plans for a large structure on the roof of the creamery’s main building that developers claimed would mirror an erratic, or glacial boulder.

The erratic was due to house a visitor centre with a history of Wensleydale’s cheesemaking and a viewing platform looking over the production line.

However, the revised application for full planning permission which will be considered next week has replaced the erratic with timber boarding. The building’s roof will now be clad instead with printed glass panels bearing the creamery’s logo.

The revised application will also seek to clarify the factory’s operations to ensure that it can continue production around the clock at the busiest times of the year, such as in the run-up to Christmas.

While there are no current restrictions on the factory’s operations, directors at the creamery have amended the application to include 24-hour production to avoid “more onerous hours” being imposed under the proposed re-development scheme.

The re-development’s precise cost has not been disclosed, but it is aimed at bringing the Wensleydale Creamery’s operations into the 21st century and capitalising on the brand’s global reputation. The creamery’s existing factory in Hawes dates back 60 years and production is due to be centralised on to the site. The development will create a new cheese production plant, visitor centre, smoke house and offices.

Richmondshire District Council’s leader John Blackie, who is also Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council’s chairman, said: “While the parish council unequivocally supports the plans for re-development, we need to make sure that the work over the different phases is carried out in a timely manner with the minimum disruption to the town.”

Wensleydale Dairy Products has an annual turnover of £25m and employs 232 workers, while milk is supplied by 45 Dales farmers.