£750,000 expansion set for Dales tourist attraction (From The Westmorland Gazette)

£750,000 expansion set for Dales tourist attraction

5:21pm Tuesday 9th March 2010 in

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A MAJOR tourist destination in the Yorkshire Dales is set for a £750,000 expansion.

The Wensleydale Creamery, in Hawes, has secured planning permission to build a substantial extension to its visitor’s centre - which attracts more than 200,000 people a year.

Work will begin later this month on the scheme, which will see a doubling of the size of the cheese shop, an enlargement of the coffee shop and also the souvenir shop.

Expected to open in September this year the expansion will create seven jobs taking the site’s workforce to 46.

David Hartley, managing director of the Wensleydale Creamery, said: “This expansion is a major development for the creamery which will lead to additional jobs being created and more money coming into the area with the centre able to handle a bigger influx of visitors.

“A large part of The Wensleydale Creamery’s ethos is supporting the rural economy. By increasing the retail space, we will be able to expand the range of local products stocked alongside our cheeses.”

The development is helped by a £290,000 grant from the Rural Development Fund for England.

Andy Tordoff, assistant director Rural Renaissance and Visitor Economy at Yorkshire Forward, said: “The Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes is vital to the prosperity of the surrounding area through staff directly employed at the business, its network of local suppliers, and it helping attract visitors to the area.”