100 local jobs secured as creamery gets green light
(From The Orcadian dated November 9, 2000)

The final financial hurdle facing plans to set up a new Orkney creamery has been removed – helping to secure around 100 jobs in the county.

A £256,000 grant and loan package was approved by councillors at last Wednesday’s economic development committee which will now enable the £5.25 million project to go ahead.

The construction work on the new factory in now imminent. Tenders for the construction have been received and the announcement on the successful bidder is due tomorrow, Friday.

The money will help Orkney Cheese Ltd equip the state-of-the-art creamery and brings the council’s involvement in the project to just under £3.6 million. The council are to build the factory and lease it back to Orkney Cheese, and they also have a £100,000 equity stake in the project.

The project has already secured £1 million in European grant aid.

Following last week’s meeting, where the issue was discussed in private, the council also announced that they had bought 1.123 million litres of milk quota from Roeberry Farm in South Ronaldsay which recently went into receivership.

Totalling an eighth of the county’s milk quota, the council say it was vital to secure the quota for use in Orkney – protecting local supply for the creamery.

The price paid for the quota has not been revealed by the council, who say it is commercially confidential, but a spokesman added it was secured at market rates

Discussions on terms and conditions for the distribution of the quota to local milk producers are ongoing.

OIC development and planning director Mr Jeremy Baster said the creamery project would support some 35 jobs in the factory plus up to 60 jobs in dairy farms throughout the county.

“It will ensure the continued production of the award winning and sought after Orkney Cheese, which is a key component in the range of quality food and drink produced locally,” he said.

“The formation of the independent Orkney Cheese Ltd earlier this year, with majority ownership by Orkney milk producers, was an important step forward giving those producers greater control over their own futures. Continuation of production in the new creamery will help reinforce the viability of milk production in Orkney, with the council’s purchase of a significant quantity of milk quota further strengthening prospects for the industry in the islands.”

Mr Baster said the aim was to complete the new factory by September 2001, to ensure the deadline for the EU grant was met – the date also being the best time of year to transfer production.

Economic development committee chairman Councillor Jim Foubister added: “The council’s involvement in this project reflects our recognition of its importance for the local agricultural industry. and for the Orkney economy as a whole. The grant and loan assistance approved this week is the final element of the project funding and will ensure it continues to move rapidly towards fruition.”