Sir, – I read with interest the recent correspondence about the new warehouse and the £800,000 visitor centre expansion at the Wensleydale Creamery (Mr Emerson & Mr Robinson, D&S letters, Sept 17).

The company prides itself on quality and customer service and takes feedback very seriously.

We welcome visitors’ views and are happy for individuals to make their opinions known to us when visiting.

The visitor centre expansion is currently a work in progress yet we are intent on offering an enjoyable visitor experience. In summer 2010, we had our busiest ever period at a time when the most building work was underway.

Staff did their utmost to ensure everyone who visited had a positive experience. They are now energised for an even better year next year – the entire works will be complete soon with a VIP visit in October and an official opening in January.

Until then we are striving to offer a great visit, but ask that people will bear with us as some facilities, such as the gift shop, will need to be temporarily relocated while new and enhanced sales and refreshment areas are developed.

Although I have ensured that some of his constructive comments have been attended to quickly, I cannot agree with Mr Robinson’s view that the centre “has lost its wonderful views”.

Now that our massive floor to ceiling window is in place, it is possible to look out across the entire dale with every frame of the window containing its own uniquely beautiful natural picture.

The letter concerning our new warehousing facility deserves a similar response. The facility is being built to make our commercial operation more efficient and environmentallyfriendly.

The extra space will enable us to remove some ugly temporary buildings on site, reduce the number of lorry journeys in the dales as we minimise the transport of ingredients from site to site and create more jobs in Hawes.

The aesthetics of the building cannot be judged yet; it will be enhanced when the timber cladding and external painting is finished, enabling it to blend in with the more traditional Dales farm buildings.

The Wensleydale Creamery sees itself as one of the custodians of the Dale. We have worked closely with the planning authorities to ensure the positioning and style of changes to the creamery’s site are in keeping with national park policies.

We hope that the new-look visitor centre will be a longterm asset to the community by helping to strengthen the economic sustainability of the dales.

DAVID HARTLEY Managing director, The Wensleydale Creamery, Hawes.