Hague visits award-winning Hawes creamery (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Hague visits award-winning Hawes creamery

11:17am Monday 25th October 2010 in Hawes news By Mike Addison, Assistant editor

A RURAL company which has pledged £800,000 to a business project has been praised by a high-profile MP for its work in support-ing the rural economy.

The Wensleydale Creamery, at Hawes, held a special briefing for the Rt Hon William Hague, MP for Richmond, on the company’s business progress.

Press play above to watch a video of the visit supplied by Wensleydale Creamery

The Foreign Secretary also heard about the company’s £800,000 investment in its visitor centre when he toured the site.

A new-look gift shop, selling a wider range of quality gifts, along with Wallace & Gromit merchandise, is now open for business.

Wensleydale Creamery employs 220 people and the new-look visitor centre, which is three times bigger than the old one, will allow it to support 20 new local suppliers.

The company recently won the Business of the Year title at The Westmorland Gazette Business and Tourism Awards.

The current visitor centre attracts more than 200,000 people a year and it is hoped the new-look building will bring in another 50,000.

“The Wensleydale Creamery is the home of the best cheese in the world,” said Mr Hague.

“We are here to celebrate the expansion of the visitor centre, as well as a business that is doing so well.”

He highlighted The Wensleydale Creamery’s export record, including its cheese sales in America, and pledged to recommend Real Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese and Jervaulx Blue to President Obama the next time he meets him.

Mr Hague was updated on items such as the creamery’s bid to gain protected food status for its Real Yorkshire Wensleydale. David Hartley, the creamery’s managing director, said: “Mr Hague has proved an ardent supporter of Dales’ businesses that are important to the livelihoods of local family-run farms.

“We regard his visit as a vote of confidence in what we are trying to achieve here at Hawes.”

The Wensleydale Creamery has been supported in its work by the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward which has given it funds.