The South West is justly renowned for the quality of its food and drink. Residents take pride in the quality of their locally grown produce, and there are plenty of internationally acclaimed restaurants throughout the region. Combined with the stunning scenery, it is no surprise that increasing numbers are visiting the South West to tour the region on gastronomic holidays.
The importance of the food and drink industry to the South West cannot be underestimated. In 2002, the industry contributed some £2.5bn to the regional economy, and the South West is home to 12 per cent of all food and drink businesses. The proposed development of a food and drink business park at Exeter Road in Okehampton is therefore very welcome.
Okehampton is situated on the north-west edge of Dartmoor, at a crucial crossroads of the local road network. The A386 crosses the A30, with its all-important link to the M5, and the rest of the country, thereby making Okehampton a natural point for distribution in the west of Devon and beyond. As a town it already has a burgeoning light industry sector, with well-known food companies such as Heinz and Ambrosia having local plants.
The South West Regional Development Agency is currently questioning local individuals and businesses about their needs that the park could satisfy, after which more specific details about the size and scale of the park will be presented. Already, local businesses are responding positively to the plans, especially after plans for a similar food park near Tiverton were scrapped due to planning law changes.
The potential opportunities of the Okehampton development are significant, in particular because of the preponderance of small food and drink businesses in the surrounding area. Over 80 per cent of such businesses in the South West employ 10 staff or fewer. Nationally, the issue of where our food comes from, and what it contains, has never had a higher profile. It is more than just the efforts of Jamie Oliver; food miles, organic production, and the threat of genetically modified food are all on the media agenda, and in the minds of consumers. In the South West, it is the small businesses – some with only one or two members of staff – that have taken the initiative and have successfully planned, grown, marketed, and distributed their products based on these themes.
This is no small achievement, given the ever-increasing power of supermarkets, and the power they wield in food supply chains. We must be realistic: the success of the large supermarkets is important to the wellbeing of our national economy, and is part and parcel of many people’s daily lives.
But if the business park at Okehampton can do anything, it can provide a helping hand to the multitude of small scale producers who cannot on their own afford to construct dedicated warehousing, storage, and distribution facilities, but who can certainly take advantage of those facilities.
Small and medium enterprises are the lifeblood of the South Western economy, and we have clear regional advantages in the food and drink industry. Investing and developing in a mutually beneficial way should continue to be a priority, and will be a positive step for our local economy.