Grant Success for Bodmin Farm Food Processing Project

News
24/01/2018

A Cornish farm has made one of the first successful bids to the Rural Development Programme for England Growth Programme (RDPE) for a £500,000 food processing project.


EW Button & Son farm 2500 acres of potatoes, cereals and blueberries at Tregawn Farm in Michaelstow. The successful grant has enabled the construction of two new cold store units and related infrastructure at two Cornish sites, created 6 new full time jobs and enabled the business to improve its processing; conditioning and storing loose and set skin potatoes.


The aim of the RDPE Growth Programme is to create jobs and growth in the rural economy. There are 3 types of grant available: business development, food processing and rural tourism infrastructure. The application process is highly competitive with a rigorous 2 part- application process with The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) assessing all expressions of interest.


Brian Harvey, Partner at PKF Francis Clark in Truro assisted the Button family with the financial modelling and application process. PKF Francis Clark has a specialist grant advisory team that concentrates on securing finance for business. With many years' experience in a variety of sectors, the aim is maximising the chances of successful grant applications.


Brian said:

"We were extremely pleased to work on this project, the application process was quite strict and being one of the first meant there was no yardstick to go by. The grant funding means not only the successful expansion of this thriving business but the added benefit of new jobs into the local economy."


Joe Button who farms the land with his father Andrew, went on to say:

" As they say a successful application starts with a good idea and working with Brian we were able to create a clear plan for how to make that idea a reality. "We are really grateful to the RDPE, the grant funding made all the difference to this project it's enabled us to really move the business on, improving our processing and extending our selling season by 8 weeks."