Butchery business saved by development grant (From The Advertiser Series)

Butchery business saved by development grant

9:03am Wednesday 8th July 2009

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A BUTCHERY business that was set for closure is now expanding after receiving grant funding.

The £240,000 from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) will allow HDV Foods, in West Auckland, County Durham, to continue trading.

The firm, which deals in wholesale butchery and storage for the meat industry, will use the grant to pay for a 20,000sq ft cold store and blast freezer.

It will allow the business to place a stronger emphasis on sourcing livestock directly from farms, slaughtering locally and processing on-site with more modern, efficient and better value processes.

The funding also means that two jobs have been saved and six posts created.

Director Stephen Speed, one of three directors to found the business in 2000, said: “If we hadn’t received the RDPE funding we would have been forced to close the business down, but the money to pay for the cold store will mean that we can expand the business and benefit the region.

“We strongly wish to increase the amount of processing done within the business so that it will allow the meat to be sourced from farms, utilising local abattoirs and give traceability back to the source.

“This in turn will provide greater control over product quality and reduce the carbon footprint, as the processing will be closer to the farmer, thus helping to increase margins.”

The meat storage capacity at the current premises was at a maximum, preventing the availability of local storage and processing of animal carcasses at peak periods.

This led to the transportation of the carcasses to other storage facilities outside the area, increasing transport and distribution costs.

Adrian Sherwood, RDPE manager at regional development agency One North East, said: “The funding will allow HDV Foods to expand its business, secure the positions of those that already work there and also help build a stronger, more profitable regional food supply chain, whilst reducing the carbon footprint.

“Farmers in the region will also benefit from a better price for their produce at times when there is a greater need for it, as well as improving margins through lower transport and distribution costs.”

The Rural Development Programme for England 2007- 2013 is jointly funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the European Union.

It is managed in this region by One North East, Natural England and the Forestry Commission.

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