Case Studies Brochure

Transcription

Eastern Plateau
Rural Development Programme
for England (RDPE)
Success Stories
Welcome
Page Heading
It’s been a privilege to have been involved in this programme.
The outcome of thirty six rural businesses expanding and or starting up as a
result of £4m of new investment, speaks for itself. It is rare to see a programme
of any sort have such a tangible and dynamic impact over such a short period
of time. The team that managed, marketed and monitored the delivery of the
programme (Kari Hall, Michael Veasey and Carol Cain) is an exemplar for
efficient, resilient, goal orientated team working. The support and guidance of,
first, the team at East of England Development Agency and then latterly, Defra,
was supportive and expert throughout with Sara Hind providing ever-present
advice. But as the current Local Action Group (LAG) chairman I must
acknowledge the voluntary expertise and support offered by the LAG members.
Those that contributed to core group regularly are as follows: Leonie King NFU,
Rob Wise NFU (formerly of the CLA), Keith Bevis, University of Hertfordshire,
Caron Kendall FSB, Stephen Rhenius, Uttlesford District Council, Simon
Jackson, Uttlesford District Council, Alan Corbett, Hertfordshire LEP, David
Hills, North Hertfordshire District Council and Cllr Jim Ranger. They deserve
huge thanks for their time and expertise freely given. For those that don’t know;
the LAG’s role is to ensure local ownership of the programme and to ensure that
grant allocations are made in the context of local priorities. Thanks should also
go to the existing Vice Chair, Ian Richardson, CVS and my predecessor Philip
Wilson, Essex County Council for their contribution to the success of the
programme.
Finally, thanks to East Herts Council for preparing the original bid that secured
the programme funding and for subsequently hosting the programme
management team and acting as the Accountable Body across the four district
council areas (East Herts, North Herts, Uttlesford and Epping Forest).
The LAG is looking to refresh and re-group in order to develop an application
for a new programme in 2014. If anyone would like to be involved then
please contact Paul Pullin, [email protected]
Will O’Neill
Chairman of the LAG
i
Eastern Plateau, Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE)
●
East Herts Council secured £2,108,000 of rural development investment
funding for local projects over the period 2009 to 2013.
●
The funding was applied for under the Rural Development Programme for
England (RDPE), with money coming from the European Union and Defra.
●
Locally the programme was developed and administered by East Herts
Council in partnership with North Herfordshire District Council, Uttlesford
District Council and Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils.
●
The project was named the Eastern Plateau, and covered the rural area of East
Herts, North Herts, Uttlesford and a small part of Epping.
●
The funds were administered using the “Leader Approach,” the Leader
approach is not a scheme, fund or set of objectives, but is a method of
harnessing local knowledge to enable a “bottom up”, community led
approach to delivery of RDPE funding in rural areas.
●
The “Leader approach” has been implemented through the Eastern Plateau
Local Action Group (LAG), - a partnership of professionals from the public,
private and voluntary sector, each with a broad range of skills and experience
and all of which, are passionate about rural development.
●
The funding supported a wide range of activities such as farm diversification,
tourism activities, business start up and development and community projects.
Four priorities were developed which projects had to align with:
●
Provision of assistance to rural communities to develop better services and
activities which enhance quality of life and encourage investment in innovative
approaches to carbon reduction.
●
Encourage and support farm diversification and adding value as a means of
addressing issues of sustainability, competitiveness and innovation.
●
Encouraging the start-up and development of rural businesses.
●
Encourage and support sustainable rural tourism in the Eastern Plateau area.
ii
Achievements to September 2013
●
36 projects awarded funding
●
23 micro-enterprises supported
●
5 Farm Diversification projects
●
1 Reservoir
●
3 Tourism projects
●
4 basic services (nursery, village shop, woodland
and community radio project)
●
49.5 jobs created
●
43 individuals benefitting
●
17,344 overnight stays/additional visitors
●
Grants of between £325 to £228,000 awarded
●
16 Local Action Group meetings held
●
Transnational visit by Flemish delegation
●
£1,655,630 of funding allocated to projects
●
£2,353,020 private sector match funding
More than £4million of investment into the area!
iii
Contents
Farm Diversification Projects
Pearce’s Farm Shop & Café
A R Smith & Sons Yoghurt Factory Expansion
Threshing Barn Holiday Cottage
Monks Green Farm Live/Work Units
Harestreet Farm Holiday Barns
2
3
4
5
6
Tourism Projects
Emerald Holiday Cottages
The Henry Moore Foundation
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust – Thorley Wash Nature Reserve
7
8
9
Reservoir Project
New Hall Farm Reservoir
10
Business Projects
Coppice Designs – Woodland Craft Workshop
Ananta Thai Foods
Nazeing Seedbed Centre Phase 1 & 2
Gibbs Sandtech Ltd – ECO Flex
Hertfordshire Hellebores
The Hertford Porker Sausage Co
WATTS Contracting
The Red Cow Pub – Kitchen Development
Glamour Groom
Support 4 Community Projects
Cybertools
Quendon Interiors
Coffee XTC
Saffron Apparel – Embroidery Machines
Hop & Peck
Villiers Brothers
The English Cream Tea Company
Revolution – Photographic
Rural Business Advice Service
Yew Tree Alpacas
Geoffrey Parker Games
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21, 26
22
23
24
25
27
28
29
30
31
32
Community Projects
Little Blue Van – Childrens Nursery
Village Shop Development
The Birchanger Wood Trust
Switch Community Radio
33
34
35
36
1
Farm Diversification Projects
Pearce’s Farm Shop & Café
A C Pearce and Sons is a family farming partnership trading from Hamels Park
Farm, near Buntingford in East Hertfordshire. The farm consists of 1,200 acres of
arable and livestock farming. 30 years ago the farm expanded to include a “pick
your own” soft fruit business and subsequently a substantial farm shop. The
project incorporated the development of the existing farm business to construct
a 90-seat café with outside seating and a new kitchen to produce ready meals and
food for the café from fruit, meat and vegetables produced on the farm.
The Eastern Plateau Local Action Group
awarded £228,497 towards building works,
kitchen equipment and marketing costs. The
new building is carbon neutral, incorporating
“Without the involvement and support from
Eastern Plateau (RDPE) we would not have been able
to create 15 new roles and take the business to
another level”
rainwater harvesting, ground source heat pump
and is of a sustainable timber framed construction. The development is now
complete and more than 15 new jobs have been created. A great success story
for all involved.
For more information visit
www.pearcesfarmshop.com
2
David Pearce
A R Smith & Sons Yoghurt Factory Expansion
The Foxholes farming partnership, A R Smith & Sons was started just after the
Second World War, and the family still continue to farm in excess of 1,000 acres
of arable land near Ware, Hertfordshire. They grow crops for bread, oil, animal
feed and bedding as well as producing their own rare-breed pigs and beef cattle.
Over the years the business has diversified by converting redundant farm
buildings into a number of different uses. One of the last remaining unconverted
buildings was the old dairy. The partnership applied to the Eastern Plateau to
convert and update the building into a modern dairy products factory.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £47,164 towards the construction and
conversion costs. The new dairy has been let to a business known as Keloglan
Dairy which manufactures yoghurt, butter and other dairy products in a new
state of the art facility for markets across the UK. Milk is supplied to the factory
daily from the prize winning dairy herd in Hertford Heath (which joins on to
Foxholes Farm).
www.foxholesfarm.com and www.keloglandairy.com
3
Threshing Barn Holiday Cottage
The farming partners at Jepps Farm wanted to diversify their farming activities
further by converting a redundant Grade II listed timber frame barn into a
stunning self catering holiday cottage sleeping 2-8 people, named the Threshing
Barn. The farm is sited on a working beef cattle farm south of Hertford and is
situated close to numerous nature reserves and woodland.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded funding towards conversion and construction
costs. The barn is now fully completed and has been awarded a 4* Visit England
Tourism rating.
www.rickyardbarns.co.uk
4
Monks Green Farm Live/Work Units
William Ashley & Partners is a farming partnership trading from Monks Green
Farm, Monks Green, Hertford. The family has farmed the 240 acres site for more
than 60 years and more recently the farm has been involved in arable and poultry
production.
The farm has diversified over the years and redundant livestock farm buildings
have been successfully converted into fully let small business units. Building on
“It has provided small businesses with an opportunity to
look towards the future, inspired many to diversify and
in doing so has developed the rural economy, encouraging
innovation and support for our rural communities.The
RDPE Eastern Plateau has supported a wide range of
rural businesses, helping to safeguard and enhance the
their previous experience and identifying a gap
in the market, the partners applied for funding
to convert redundant chicken sheds into
innovative “live work units”. The units are a
concept that is new to the area, where small
businesses have access to a workshop and
living accommodation, both on site. The live/
rural area of East Herts.”
work unit concept enables a more sustainable
William Ashley
way of living, reducing the need to travel and allowing small business staff to
spend more time with their family.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £173,140 towards building works for three
of the units. A total of six units have been developed and are all fully let.
5
Harestreet Farm Holiday Barns
In 2011, the York Bros farming partnership
was granted planning permission to develop
their derelict barns into three holiday
cottages. These barns had not been used for
agricultural purposes for a very long time due
to their location and lack of functionality, and were not only a blight on the
landscape, but also a potentially dangerous and wasted space.
To be able to convert these barns into habitable properties, they applied for
funding from the Eastern Plateau. Without the
grant, they would not have been able to go
ahead with the building work due to the high
costs involved with such a project. The building
conversion work started in October 2012 and
was completed in June 2013, with the first
paying guests arriving on 29 June 2013. York
Bros have been delighted with the amount of
bookings they took in the first few months of
the new business, and hope to continue the
success over the coming years.
“Thanks to the funding from the Eastern Plateau, we
have not only managed to start up a new (so far
successful) business, we have also built three stunning
barn conversions which we are immensely proud of.
We have generated employment in the local area
through cleaning, laundry, gardening and window
cleaning contracts. We have also welcomed many new
visitors to the area from all parts of the UK, Europe
and further afield, and formed mutually beneficial
partnerships with other local businesses.”
Emma Spencer
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £161,360 towards the conversion and
construction costs.
www.harestreetholidays.co.uk
6
Tourism Projects
Emerald Holiday Cottages
Emerald Cottages is a development of six holiday cottages that were created
from the ruins of an old stable block in the hamlet of Levens Green close to
Puckeridge. Husband and wife team Verity and Steve Garner who live close by,
invested their future into the business and after an extended construction the
resulting development was proud to be awarded a Visit England 4* rating.
“At times through 2011/2012 the project was hard,
but the grant made it worthwhile and the help from
the project team was a great benefit on those anxious
days. Having had an excellent year, our comment is
we wish we had done it years ago!”
Verity Garner
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £129,107
towards construction, fit out costs, website
and marketing. The development opened in
late summer 2012, and already has a number
of repeat bookings.
www.emerald-cottages.com
7
The Henry Moore Foundation
The Henry Moore Foundation is set in the peaceful East Hertfordshire village of
Perry Green where Moore lived and worked. The Foundation is home to the
greatest collection of Moore’s work, mostly displayed outside in harmony with
the local surroundings. In recent times the Foundation had been subject to
crimes against the works, and this allied to increasing costs and decreasing
revenues, presented a challenge to preserve the legacy of one of Britain’s greatest
ever sculptors.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £59,703 to
support the installation of state-of-the-art
security systems, and an EPOS till system which
allowed for the recovery of Gift Aid. Following
these installations the Foundation was able to
host a major exhibition of Moore & Rodin’s
work during the summer of 2013.
“We were delighted to receive this grant from the
Eastern Plateau LAG. The contribution towards the
installation of security measures was especially
important in enabling us to proceed with the Moore
& Rodin outdoor sculpture exhibition, for which we
are most grateful.”
www.henry-moore.org/pg
8
Lesley Wake
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust –
Thorley Wash Nature Reserve
Thorley Wash was an
overgrown
piece
of
scrubland alongside the
River Stort Navigation
between
Stortford
Bishop’s
and
Little
Hallingbury. It has now
become a nature reserve
filled with birdsong and
Elena Capel
wildflowers, with assistance from the Eastern Plateau.
“Thorley Wash Nature Reserve near Bishop's
Stortford is rare wet grassland habitat. The reserve
was badly in need of attention to protect important
botanical species and other wildlife. We are grateful
to the Rural Development Programme for England for
supporting our recent restoration project at Thorley,
completed in May 2013, which will enable us to
protect this Site of Special Scientific Interest in the
future.”
Dr Tom Day
Thorley Wash was designated as a Site of
Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1986 for its
botanical interest associated with tall wash
grassland habitat. Wildflowers present include
ragged robin, marsh marigold, fen bedstraw
and meadowsweet. There are also records for
early and southern marsh orchids. The wet
habitats are good for a diverse range of wildlife
including dragonflies, damselflies, birds and
bats. Areas of long vegetation provide shelter
for small mammals and reptiles. In the summer months the area is grazed by
water buffalo to help keep the scrub from encroaching back, and to help retain
the tall wash grassland habitat.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £60,618 towards the clearing of the site, tree
pollarding, fencing and gates and infrastructure to inform and count visitors
and support the first site warden in their activity.
www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/thorley-wash
9
Reservoir Project
New Hall Farm Reservoir
The Stevenson Brothers farming partnership is a well established arable and
potato farm in High Roding, Great Dunmow supplying, among others, Marks
& Spencer and Waitrose, with King Edward potatoes. The Eastern Plateau was
pleased to support a project to assist the farming partnership to expand the
cropping regime to meet market demand which required a winter water storage
reservoir.
The project involved investment in a 40,909m3
(9 million gallon) reservoir to secure the
production of an area of higher value potato
crops across 25ha of land. The Eastern Plateau
“The extra water storage capacity has proved
invaluable in giving us the confidence to grow product
to our customers’ exacting standard on an increased
area, allowing us to plan and invest for the future.”
Tom Stevenson
construction of the reservoir which has resulted in one new job being created
LAG
awarded
on the farm.
10
£20,081
towards
the
Business Projects
Coppice Designs - Woodland Craft Workshop
Small business Coppice Designs, run by Andy Basham, has been supported to
develop his business. Andy owns a small woodland craft and coppicing business
based at Goldstones Farm, Ashdon. He has developed his business to create a
woodland training camp, to pass on his teaching skills in coppice woodcraft.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £9,040 towards equipment and materials to
“The award has been crucial in helping me achieve my
establish a mobile teaching camp at Hales
Nature Reserve. Courses include woodland
goal of running a woodland skills centre.”
management, woodwork, willow work and
Andy Basham
charcoal making. Andy has employed a trainee to help him in his business and
to pass on his experience.
www.coppicedesigns.co.uk
11
Ananta Thai Foods
A husband and wife team, Sergio and Ananta Manini, bought the Coach &
Horses pub in Wicken Bonhunt after it had been closed for some time. The
villagers rallied round to help with the renovations, eager to have the pub open
to support the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.
The pub, now christened ‘Ananta Thai Food Pub’ has proved highly successful
with Ananta (of Thai origin) in charge of the food, and Sergio pulling the pints
of local guest ales behind the bar.
towards a new car park which is also used by
the local church on Sunday mornings, so
doubling as a community asset. Customer
“Thank you so much for all the support received by
the Eastern Plateau LAG in helping us to build a car
park for our restaurant, this has been very important
for the success of our business.”
feedback has been so good the business has
won the Essex Life Fine Food & Drinks Customer Service Award 2013.
www.anantathaifood.com
12
Sergio Manini
Nazeing Seedbed Centre Phase 1 & 2
Grant Richardson, owner & developer of The Nazeing Seedbed Centre, started
a new business as a developer and supplier of high quality small managed
workspace units. The business aims at providing low cost, easy in/easy out
workspaces for start ups and micro businesses looking to locate in the lower
Lea Valley close to the M25.
Phase 1 of the project converted a redundant factory unit on an old mushroom
farm in Nazeing, Essex into 6 fully serviced modern self-contained start up
business units. Phase 2 of the project was a second and separate business case /
funding application once the model had proven track record and comprises a
further 5 units.
The Nazeing Seedbed Centre was the only business to successfully secure funding
through RDPE on two separate business cases for the same project and in total
received £93,643 between 2010 & 2013 towards the construction costs of
developing phases 1 & 2. The 11 units funded by RDPE are all fully let to the
target group, have enjoyed true 100% occupancy rates since opening and have
a waiting list of prospective tenants.
The business is currently developing 2 new build units along the same model in
Braintree and is in early purchase stages of a site in Harlow with potential for
10 new build units.
13
Gibbs Sandtech Ltd – ECO Flex
Gibbs Sandtech Ltd is a small producer of custom engineered machinery and
consumables for the wood working industry, based in Braughing, Ware.
The aim of the project was to develop the business further to include production
of a new sanding head made from recyclable materials (cardboard, natural fibre
brush head).
By having the flexibility of manufacturing on
site, Gibbs Sandtech is able to offer
customers a quick turnaround with a high
quality product. The Eastern Plateau LAG
awarded £36,000 towards equipment and
salary costs for two new members of staff
who were employed as a result of the project.
“Gibbs Sandtech Ltd had developed a new concept for
an environmentally friendly sanding head, which
would replace costly plastic sanding heads which were
the only option on the open market.
The project could have only taken place with the help
of the grant received from RDPE, and their invaluable
help with the application process. The project has been
a great success story for all concerned.”
Warren Gibbs
www.gibbsfinishing.com
14
Hertfordshire Hellebores
Lorna Jones has a passion for hellebores and over the past few years has become
one of the leading breeders of hellebores in the UK. She produces different and
vivid new varieties which have been sold around the world from her relatively
small plot in rural East Hertfordshire. She has been recognised for this speciality
by publications such as “The Garden” and television programmes such as
“Gardeners’ World”. In order for the business to grow, a packing barn was required
so that the plants could be packaged for shipping. It will also be used for
specialist lectures for groups wishing to visit and learn from Lorna.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £21,546 toward the construction of an oak
framed barn that could be used for these purposes, and secured the future
employment of Lorna and her husband. The building fits naturally into the
contours of the rural landscape blending in with many of the long established
farm buildings around.
www.herts-hellebore.co.uk
15
The Hertford Porker Sausage Co
The Hertford Porker is an award winning sausage made to a secret recipe by
experienced butcher Ronnie McLeod. Ronnie worked as the manager of a
renowned local sausage maker until it was taken over by a larger concern. He
decided to branch out on his own, and do what he did best – make sausages.
Ronnie uses only prime cuts of paddock-raised pork with a secret blend of herbs
and spices to make his uniquely traditional Hertford Porker sausages. The
sausages are now available at outlets across East Hertfordshire and at a number
of local restaurants and pubs, as well as direct from Ronnie himself on Hertford
Farmers’ Market.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £4,676 to help with the purchase
of a specialist chiller delivery van, large chiller fridge, vacuum packer and
printing scales.
www.hertfordporker.co.uk
16
WATTS Contracting
James Watts, a farmer’s son from near Puckeridge, had been carrying out
contracting work on farms, and forestry work in a number of small woodlands
across the Eastern Plateau area. He noticed that, while there were hauliers that
used
traditional
articulated
HGVs
to
transport
products
for
wood-fuel, there was no facility for getting onto difficult-to-access sites and then
delivering locally, to wood fuel users within a five mile radius of where the wood
is sourced.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £14,976 to purchase a JCB Fastrac, specialist
trailer and timber handling crane, together with help in marketing the business.
www.watts-contracting.co.uk.
17
The Red Cow Pub - Kitchen Development
The Red Cow in the quintessential English village of Chrishall, just south of
Cambridge between Saffron Walden and Royston is a picture-perfect thatched
village pub. Proprietor and award–winning chef Toby Didier’Serre and fiancée
Alexis Beeching serve delicious, homemade dishes made daily. They use fresh,
ingredients, carefully sourced from local suppliers wherever possible, on
seasonally changing menus. They also have a selection of real ales and fine wines.
Their aim is to make The Red Cow a focal point for village life by providing a
small village shop on site and facilities for community events.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £56,610 towards the building and kitting out
of new kitchens. This has led to the employment of a further chef and The Red
Cow winning the prestigious Les Routiers “Pub of The Year” 2013 Award.
www.theredcow.com
18
Glamour Groom
Glamour Groom is a new business owned and run by Kim Hope and is situated
in the idyllic countryside grounds of the A120 veterinary centre, Little Hadham,
Hertfordshire.
Kim is a City & Guilds qualified head groomer who has 27 years experience with
dogs. She has dogs of her own; a Rottweiler and a couple of miniature poodles
which she shows, and is a Kennel Club assured breeder.
At Glamour Groom dogs are treated with love and care. The parlour uses top
quality products and equipment. It offers a dog short clip or a specialist breed
clip, where dogs are hand stripped and bathed and dried. A comprehensive
range of additional services are available included in the grooming sessions are
ear and teeth checks and nail cutting.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £6,764 towards the fitting out and
refurbishment of the new premises, new grooming and bathing equipment,
website and marketing of the new business.
www.glamourgroom.co.uk
19
Page Heading
Support
4 Community Projects
Friends Julia Witting and Corinna Hartwig came up with the idea of setting up
a business to support people and community groups to access different funding
pots, especially in their area of specialism ‘Community Play Areas’ after they
successfully raised £95k for their local playground as volunteers. Equipped with
complementary skills sets, they approached the Eastern Plateau LAG for startup funding for IT, marketing and training costs. They called the business, a social
enterprise, Support 4 Community Projects Ltd .
towards these costs and the business has since
gone from strength to strength and is now
“The Eastern Plateau Rural Development Programme
was a ‘godsend’ for us starting up our social
enterprise.”
operating nationally. Their funding service, also
known as “The Funding Doctor,” is now established as a well-known brand and
they have referred other successful projects to the Eastern Plateau programme.
www.support4communityprojects.co.uk
20
Julia Witting
Page Heading
Cybertools
– Breakout Production Phase 1
Paul Brown, Managing Director of Buntingford based engineering company
Cybertools, approached the Eastern Plateau LAG in late 2010 to turn a product
which had appeared on TV show The Dragon’s Den into a production reality.
This meant transforming the business, which was a traditional high quality
engineering toolmaker, into one which also produced injection mouldings and
then assembled the final product. The Eastern Plateau helped fund the
machinery to enable this to happen. The business was transformed and two new
jobs were created. The business moved into production of the ”Breakout”
product, a specialised way of breaking emergency exit glass doors. The
machinery proved a success to Cybertools and was also useful in the company’s
ability to take on different projects for clients.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £90,528 towards the purchase of the
machinery, transforming the business from a tool maker to one able to provide
a turnkey solution for product development within the plastic injection
engineering industry.
www.cybertoolsltd.co.uk
21
Quendon Interiors
Quendon Interiors are designers and makers of high quality bespoke cabinetry,
interior joinery and freestanding furniture.
All their products are handmade at their fully equipped factory workshop by a
team of highly skilled cabinet makers and joiners. They are backed up with a
network of excellent suppliers and artisans, including metal fabricators, stone
masons, glaziers, upholsterers, toolmakers and engineers. They use fine quality
materials, hardwoods and veneers from sustainable sources.
The business was founded by and is owned by Tom Perkins who has more than
20 years of experience in the design and manufacture of high quality residential
joinery. Tom takes a hands-on approach to every aspect of every project.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £12,858 towards new plant and equipment
to improve and streamline their production processes, to convert part of their
factory into a dedicated showroom space, and to develop a new website and
brochure to support the intended expansion.
www.quendon.net
22
Coffee XTC
Coffee XTC owners, husband and wife Chris and Denise Hall, have been involved
in the coffee business for 13 years, and for 15 years prior to that in the
hospitality, pub and restaurant trade.
Their excitement about the coffee industry is never tiring, with new machines
and technological advances and an ever changing range of coffees and teas
offered to discerning clients.
Over the last few years they have become more involved with the Speciality
Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) training programme and UK Barista
Competition with sensory and technical judging.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £4,867 towards coffee making machinery for
their new training suite and towards IT equipment.
www.coffeextc.co.uk
23
Page Heading
Saffron
Apparel Embroidery Machines
Saffron Apparel Limited is a specialist supplier of printed and embroidered
garments and printed giftware to the corporate, education, leisure & sports
markets. Graeme Proctor and his team operate from spacious premises which
include a comprehensive showroom, in the Essex village of Wendens Ambo.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £12,450 towards the purchase of three new
embroidery machines, which enabled the business to use the latest digital
technology to expand. It has a growing list of blue chip clients including
Cambridge University and the British Army. Many of the T-shirts seen on troops
in Afghanistan have been custom made by Saffron Apparel.
www.saffronapparel.co.uk
24
Hop & Peck
Hop & Peck was founded by two designers, Elaine & Stephen in November 2010,
whose passion to design and craft traditionally inspired wooden products led
them to create a range of products which are individual, creative and
contemporary. They challenge their products design to be simple, clever and
functional and also like to give them an added twist.
The Hop & Peck collection is made from beautiful quality oak which is carefully
sourced from sustainable forests, finished with Danish oil. Where painted, it is
with child friendly water based paints. Purposely designed without the use of
screws or nails so it is eco friendly too.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £5,824 towards the refurbishment of their
premises, marketing and to attend three trade fairs to showcase their business.
At a recent Top Drawer event in London they were awarded the top award for
“The Best New Product Gift”. Orders have been secured from a Scandinavian
design led company which will be selling Hop & Peck toys in Selfridges this
Christmas.
www.hopandpeck.co.uk
25
Page Heading
Cybertools
– Repatriation of Chinese Production Phase 2
Buntingford based engineering company Cybertools had already run a successful
RDPE project ‘Breakout Production’ funded by the Eastern Plateau LAG in 2011,
when they approached the Eastern Plateau LAG for the next stage in their
business growth.
Previously Cybertools had made injection moulding tools for a US company
which had the product manufactured in China. Cybertools were approached
now that they had moved into the manufacture of injection moulded products
to see if they could produce “in-house” the products that were being made in
China.
towards the purchase of a larger moulding
machine. This allowed the US customer to
repatriate the tools that Cybertools had made
in the past and commence manufacture of the
“We cannot thank the Eastern Plateau Grant body
enough, not only for the funding towards our new
machine but the help we received throughout the
process from the team members.”
product, which is then exported to the USA.
www.cybertoolsltd.co.uk
26
Paul Brown
Villiers Brothers
The three Villiers brothers, Harry, Hugo and Tim, first set up in business 25 years
ago in the countryside of north Essex. They combined their three backgrounds
to design and manufacture stunning individual furniture items using traditional
metalworking skills. Villiers Brothers, through talent and hard work, has now
become synonymous across the world with elegant, timeless design.
“With this new building we can realise our potential.
The challenge they were experiencing was that
the business was constrained by its premises,
A BIG thank you to the RDPE team.”
and they did not have a dedicated area within
Hugo Villiers
the factory where they could exhibit their designs to their discerning clientele.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £60,000 towards the construction costs of
an extension onto the side of their factory. This will allow them to expand and
develop, and they anticipate new jobs will be created as a result.
www.villiers.co.uk
27
The English Cream Tea Company
Jane Malyon started
the English Cream Tea
Company, recognising
that it’s not always
possible for everyone to
travel to a great hotel
to enjoy white-gloved
waiter
service
and
traditional high tea
with all the trimmings
and etiquette involved.
Her business idea was that a really super English Cream Tea could come to them
instead. Not simply some jam or clotted cream arriving by post, but the real
London hotel-style experience, from the dainty sandwiches to the assorted cakes,
scones, jam, cream; all prepared and delivered, chilled, to the door.
The business was launched in 2011 and now in
2013 is still growing. Sales have increased by
500% this year from 2012 and the business is
now targeting event organisers, stately homes
and corporates. The business intends to
expand into merchandising, developing a wider
range of postable gifts and working on
etiquette events and filming.
“Using the grant, we've developed a wonderful packing
and packaging barn for our hamper and gift business,
The English Cream Tea company. This has included
obtaining extra high packing tables to ease the Scone
Gnomes' backs as well as a bigger food mixer and
excellent storage facilities to help efficiency. That's got
to be good news all round. We're now in a better
position to grow the company and spread delicious-ness
all over the UK. That's a win-win surely.”
Jane Malyon
assist in the development of a packing and packaging department.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £3,082 to
www.englishcreamtea.com
28
Revolution Photographic
Revolution Photographic owner Matt Fagg had been in business as a wedding
and general photographer when he came up with an idea to develop the
business. Matt wanted to offer a service whereby clients who needed to display
shots of their products on their website could do so in 3D, using a technique
called 360 degree product photography. Matt then intended to use this to
expand his business by offering the service to the plethora of companies now
selling online so that they could better display the features of their products.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £3,935 to assist in the purchase of the
specialist turntables and strobes, software, office furnishings, salary for a new
employee engaged in marketing the services of the business and other office
expenditure.
www.revolutionphotographic.com
29
Rural Business Advice Service
The Rural Business Advice Project was established by East Herts and North
Hertfordshire Councils to deliver a bespoke business advisory service in the rural
areas of their districts. Running from July 2012 until October 2013 the service
provided advice for pre-start, start-ups, and existing businesses to help them
realise their goals. Working primarily on an individual basis with business
owners, the project offered a bespoke service with the aim of giving business
owners the skills to deal with issues in the future. Services provided included
helping with business plans, marketing and also signposting to other sources of
business support where appropriate.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £35,200 towards marketing, publicity and
salary costs of the Rural Business Advisor.
30
Yew Tree Alpacas
Yew Tree Alpacas are a small but growing business
based in the picturesque village of Anstey in rural
East Hertfordshire. The herd was established in 2009,
with four alpacas and this has now increased to 16;
12 adults and four young alpacas (cria) all born this
year (2013).
After successfully trialling the sale of the alpaca yarn in 2012, owners Penny and
Stephen have set up a new rural business selling alpaca yarn and alpaca knitted
accessories at craft and Christmas fairs in the Hertfordshire area. From January
2014 their new e-commerce website will form an essential part in the
development of the business.
“The RDPE grant has been invaluable to get the new
business off the ground and will enable us to take Yew
They are also planning to host visitor open days
during the summer and offer “alpaca
experiences” and alpaca adoption packages,
Tree Alpaca products to the next level.”
giving adults and children the chance to learn
Penny Wylie
more about alpacas and the beautifully soft yarns which can be produced from
alpaca fleece. Yew Tree Alpacas has a growing team of local experienced knitters,
based in Buntingford and surrounding villages, who hand knit a range of knitted
accessories for sale to the public.
Yew Tree Alpacas were awarded £13,506 towards equipment and marketing
materials including the new e-commerce website essential to the development
of the company.
www.yewtreealpacas.co.uk
31
Geoffrey Parker Games
Geoffrey Parker Games proudly boast that they are makers of the world’s finest
board games, and one look at their craftsmanship, allied to their worldwide
customer-base in the world’s finest stores and brands, bears this out.
The business was started by the current owner, Max Parker’s father, Geoffrey, in
1958, and has developed over the years. The product range has expanded,
trading from the converted piggery on the farm that Geoffrey bought just after
the war.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £24,158 towards the purchase of a dedicated
photography studio to photograph new products, CAD laser leather cutting and
printing equipment. This will enable the business to improve production times
significantly, thus reducing lead times to customers.
www.geoffreyparker.com
32
Community Projects
Little Blue Van – Childrens Nursery
Little Blue Van is a start-up privately owned day nursery located in Stanstead
Abbots. The nursery opened in June 2011 and is run by owners Louise Raja and
Martin Haynes. The nursery is named after Louise’s camper van that is parked
at the front of the nursery and is used by the nursery and children for the odd
story time and snack! The nursery runs 51 weeks a year, for children aged 3
months to 5 years.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £6,263 towards refurbishment of the
premises, indoor and outdoor nursery equipment. Five jobs (one part-time)
have been created as a result of the project.
www.littlebluevan.com
33
Village Shop Development
The Eastern Plateau supported a rural pub to establish a small village shop on
site, serving everyday essentials to the villagers. Because of the lack of local
facilities the Parish Council and the local pub landlord agreed that an adjoining
outbuilding to the local pub would be ideal as the local village store.
The Eastern Plateau LAG supported the development of the outbuilding by
providing a grant of £325 towards the cost of flooring and fit out costs.
34
The Birchanger Wood Trust
The Birchanger
Wood Trust
Birchanger Wood is situated between the village of Birchanger and Bishop’s
Stortford, and offers great public amenity access for local people. Birchanger
Wood is owned by the Birchanger Wood Trust, a charitable trust created
exclusively to preserve the wood for the public good.
The wood consists of 69 acres of ancient coppiced woodland – hornbeam, hazel,
ash, birch, oak, sweet chestnut, cherry, holly, and a wide range of flora including
English bluebells, wood anemones and golden saxifrages and has a stream
flowing through it.
The wood is maintained totally by volunteers in accordance with a management
plan drawn up by professional ecologists and the Forestry Commission for the
benefit of local community and visitors. It is supported by donations from a
wide range of private and public organisations and by individuals.
The Eastern Plateau LAG awarded £40,998 towards the costs of a building,
fencing and a palisade within the woodland where tools and equipment could
be stored securely; and a tractor, trailer, chipper and ancillary tools that would
be required while maintaining the woodland.
www.birchangerwoodtrust.org
35
Switch Community Radio
Switch Community Radio is the brainchild of Jacky Rom and the volunteers that
run the Arts Centre in Dunmow.
The Arts Centre is a community hire facility that provides services such as dance,
karate, Zumba, cooking, arts and crafts and drama for the rural hinterland
around Dunmow, while Switch is designed to be a local radio station
broadcasting to this rural community.
In addition Jacky and her team
intend to use the radio station
facilities to train local young people
in the making and broadcasting of
radio programmes, as part of the
“Without this funding we couldn't have fulfilled this
project. The whole town is excited at the prospect of a
community radio station and we now have more than
45 volunteers helping with the project.”
Jacky Rom
range of different services that are offered from the centre. The Eastern Plateau
LAG awarded £10,000 towards the construction of the studio and the recording
studio equipment.
www.switchdunmow.com
36
Contact
For more information please contact:
Paul Pullin
Economic Development Manager
East Herts Council
Wallfields
Pegs Lane
Hertford
Herts
SG13 8EQ
Direct dial 01992 531606
M 07921404517
37
The European Agricultural Fund
for Rural Development (EAFRD):
Europe Investing in Rural Areas.
The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is funded by Defra and the EU

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