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| NORTH YORKSHIRE |  | | | CLEVELAND | | | COUNTY DURHAM | | |
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Local firm to build agricultural centre in Harrogate
WORK on a new £5.1m regional
agricultural centre for the North
will begin next month.
The Yorkshire Agricultural Society
announced that local contractors
Houseman & Falshaw
will build the development on
the Great Yorkshire Showground
in Harrogate.
The development will create
35 jobs and includes a suite of offices,
cafe and shop, which will
promote and sell regional produce.
The YAS is the first agricultural
society in the UK to develop such
an initiative.
Heather Parry, deputy chief executive,
said Houseman & Falshaw's
tender showed "a real
commitment to create a topquality
building, which is architecturally
innovative and environmentally
cutting edge".
Stuart Falshaw, managing director
of the company, described
the project as a "fascinating and
complex development" with a
variety of special features to make
it sustainable and to minimise
impact on the environment.
Work is expected to last 11
months, but will not affect the
Great Yorkshire or Countryside
Live.
Over the last decade the society
has spent more than £12m
upgrading the 250-acre site,
which holds a wide range of
events - from the Yorkshire International
Business Convention to
private weddings.
The society's office staff will relocate
to the new building, along
with other not-for-profit rural organisations.
The shop will promote locallysourced
food as a priority and the
cafe will be designed to allow
cookery demonstrations and
food launches to be staged.
The society already contributes
around £37m to the region
each year and all profits
made from the shop and cafe will
be ploughed back into supporting
agriculture in the region.
Miss Parry said: "Our vision is
to be the focus for farming and
the countryside in this region
year round, whether that is providing
a venue for the launch of a
new Yorkshire cheese, giving
local producers a platform for
their produce, hosting cookery
demonstrations, educating customers
on how the food they eat
is produced, or supporting rural
businesses by providing office
accommodation."
YAS also plans to promote
other farm shops in the region,
perhaps through a map showing
where they are located and encouraging
people to visit and buy
from them.
The building has been designed
by P+HS Architects which
has offices in Stokesley and Leeds.
The building will be timber
framed, rainwater will be harvested,
a ground source pump
will heat the building, and solar
thermal roof panels will provide
some of the hot water.
The farm shop and cafe will
have a "green" sedum roof and a
dry stone outer wall. Sheep's
wool will be used as insulation in
the offices.
10:40am Friday 16th May 2008
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