News / Yorkshire Forward RDPE grant helps Yorkshire...
Yorkshire Forward RDPE grant helps Yorkshire ice cream maker expand
Tuesday 27th October 2009
A York ice cream maker has expanded its facilities to meet increasing demand thanks to a Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) grant from Yorkshire Forward.
Yorvale, York’s only dairy ice cream manufacturer based at Acaster Malbis, has received a £94,000 grant which has enabled the business to begin work on a 400 sq metre extension that will create several jobs for local people.
RDPE has £63m to invest in rural businesses over a six year period through a number of programmes. Yorvale accessed its grant through the Rural Enterprise Investment Programme which offers grants starting at £25,000 and is available to rural businesses wanting to grow and become more productive.
Yorvale’s Ian Buxton said: “It’s very encouraging that we able to extend the Yorvale business in these economic times. We have been fortunate in that we have grown our business significantly over the last three years and desperately need more space to service our growing number of local and national customers.”
Ian’s wife Lesley, who is responsible for sales and new product development at the farm based business, added: “We’ve had great support from Yorkshire Forward. Times are tough for dairy farmers following the collapse of the Dairy Farmers of Britain co-operative, but the Rural Development Programme encourages businesses like ours to access funding in order to expand whilst helping to transform the region’s rural economy.”
Andy Tordoff, assistant director of environment at Yorkshire Forward, said: “The Rural Enterprise Investment Programme can be accessed by businesses like Yorvale that process and add value to agricultural produce, also farm diversification businesses, tourism, forestry businesses and other rural micro businesses. RDPE is a flexible package that can be accessed by many rural businesses; we are working hard with our partners to ensure Yorkshire and Humber’s rural businesses take advantage of it.”
RDPE is managed by Yorkshire Forward and is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union. For further information on the different RDPE programmes visit www.yorkshire-forward.com/rdpe
