Worcestershire farm shop expands with REG support

A WORCESTERSHIRE farm shop which has been championing locally-produced food and drink has expanded with the support of the Rural Enterprise Grant programme.

Rowberry’s Nurseries started out in 1977 when it was set up by Chris Rowberry. In 1989 Mr Rowberry and wife Maria bought a site in Chaddesley Corbett with the plan of building a farm shop from which to sell their own fruit, vegetables, plants and flowers.

In 2005, they bought the 250 acre farm neighboring the site which is used to raise short horn cattle, pigs and chickens.

Having already expanded to include a restaurant, Rowberry’s Nurseries now employs 30 staff and has recently added another string to its bow with the opening of a butchery.

To support the investment, the Rowberry’s applied for a Rural Enterprise Grant (REG) worth £25,000 which has been spent on a refit of part of the farm shop building and installing the equipment.

Mrs Rowberry said: “Now we’ve got a butcher as part of the farm shop we are able to sell fresh meat and it’s been a real hit with customers. The Rural Enterprise Grant has made a huge difference, enabling us to go ahead with the plans far quicker than we could otherwise.”

Funded under the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) which is managed by Advantage West Midlands and administered by Herefordshire Council, REGs are available for farmers and micro businesses developing and diversifying into food and drink, environmental technologies and tourism improvements.

Funding of up to 40% (or £62,500) can be secured towards projects that range from new processing machinery and supply chain equipment and improvements to tourism experiences.

Dorothy Coleman, REG manager, said: “Rowberry’s Nurseries is a fantastic example of a business which is not only successful but is showcasing fresh rural food and drink.

“The butchery is the logical step forward for a company which is already very popular with customers for the fruit and vegetables it sells and the grant has helped make the vision a reality.”

The Rural Enterprise Grant (REG) has been successfully supporting farmers and rural businesses for over a year and to date has approved nearly £2m of grants. The project steering group has recently reviewed the eligibility criteria and extended the range of activities that are eligible to rural businesses.

In addition to projects linked to priorities like tourism, food and drink and environmental technologies, farmers can now apply for grant funding linked to Care Farming, education, on-farm retailing, farm-shops and non-food processing.