fine food news
Truro development is in trouble again after Waitrose attacks ‘partner’ Taste of Cornwall in local press
Doubts over Cornish Food Hall as
Waitrose admits ‘revising’ the deal
By ARABELLA MILEHAM
Producer consortium The Taste of
Cornwall (ToC) is hopeful its planned
Cornish Food Hall in Truro will go
ahead, despite rumours of a major
rift with Waitrose, one of its main
partners in the project.
The controversial plan for a
6,000 sq ft local food showcase
under the same roof as a new
15,000 sq ft Waitrose in Truro was
given the green light in 2012 after
a long planning battle. It is slated
to open in 2016, three years behind
schedule.
The concept is a partnership
between ToC – a group of farmers,
growers and food producers – and
Waitrose, Cornwall Council and the
Duchy of Cornwall, which owns the
land.
It forms a cornerstone of
the Truro Eastern District Centre
development, a £40m complex on
the city’s outskirts that includes a
park-and-ride and housing.
However, last month the deal
was called into question after
Waitrose released a statement
to local press saying it had no
confidence in ToC to deliver the
Three years after winning planning approval the combined development
remains on the drawing board
project and claiming key milestones
had been missed.
In response, ToC shareholders
were reported to have accused the
retail giant of reneging on promises
and moving the goalposts to such
as extent it would be impossible to
make money.
Speaking to FFD Waitrose said
that while it was committed to
delivering a food hall for Cornish
produce alongside its new store – as
required by the planning consent
– it was actively looking for other
partners.
“We would be open to
continuing discussions with Taste
of Cornwall if they are able to
demonstrate they can deliver the
shop, but as this has not been
forthcoming we must start looking
at alternatives,” a spokesman said.
However, Waitrose also admitted
changing the original agreement
with ToC, blaming changing market
conditions and delays from planning
challenges.
“We had to revise the
agreement or it was not viable for
us to open, let alone to do the
Taste of Cornwall unit,” a Waitrose
spokesman said.
He insisted “core” promises –
including Waitrose building the unit,
helping to fit it out and providing
it rent free for at least five years –
had not been changed and that it
was still trying to find a solution
acceptable to all parties.
Sensitive negotiations are
understood to be ongoing, but ToC
chairman Philip Warren dismissed
Waitrose’s statement as “commercial
wrangling”.
“Taste of Cornwall are looking
forward to delivering what is agreed
under the planning permission, and
deliver our long established contract
with Waitrose,” he said.
Taste of the West in share issue
to fund national marketing push
British brewing boom shows
no sign of slowing, says CAMRA
By ARABELLA MILEHAM
By MICK WHITWORTH
Regional food group Taste of the
West (TotW) aims to raise £250,000
through a share issue to boost its
members’ chances of competing on
national and international markets.
The organisation, representing
over 1,000 West County food
businesses, aims to strengthen its
commercial arm, invest in sales
and promotions and appoint more
account management staff.
The funding drive, launched
last month, is open to both TotW
members and private investors,
including private equity groups.
Shares are priced at £1 each, with a
minimum investment of £350.
The food group hopes to raise
the money by November.
Chief executive John Sheaves
told FFD there was a gap in the
market for regional producers to sell
nationally and it was important to
act collaboratively to promote south
west England as a brand.
“The region is now known as
a top quality producer but we have
to reach markets both in the UK
and internationally in a way that
represents brands not as individuals,
but together as a group,” he said.
The British beer revolution appears
“unstoppable”, according to the
editor of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide,
after the real ale campaigning body
revealed a 10% rise in the number of
breweries for a third consecutive year.
“More and more breweries
have been launched to keep up with
demand for full-bodied, full-flavoured
beers,” said Roger Protz.
“Britain now has more breweries
per head than any other country and
the range of beers on offer is the best
in the world, ranging from the palest
golden ale to the darkest, pitch-black
stout.”
Over 200 new breweries are
featured in the Good Beer Guide
2016, published last month. CAMRA
says there are now 1,424 UK brewers
– more than at any time since World
War II – producing over 11,000
different real ales.
While one in every six pints sold in
British pubs is now real ale, the range
of local and regional bottled ales
available for off-sales has also risen.
Bottled beer entries to the Great
Taste awards scheme have almost
doubled in the past three years, with
178 products entered this year.
John Sheaves: Provenance is now
more important than ‘local’
“Together, through us, smaller
producers can achieve more.”
Consumers’ interest in artisan
food was now less about ‘local’
than about the provenance, Sheaves
added. “A common theme in the
market is that it’s not about large
national brands, but smaller ones
with a story to tell,” he said.
www.tasteofthewest.co.uk
CAMRA says variety is also
increasing, with breweries now
producing an average of eight
products each.
“Gone are the days when a
brewery made just one or two
different beers,” it says, “as brewers
expand their repertoires to include
porters, stouts, IPAs, fruit beers, or
even beers aged in wine and whisky
casks.”
Roger Protz said that while the
movement is UK-wide, London is
reclaiming its place at the centre of
British brewing “London is the most
remarkable success story. Today there
are 74 breweries operating in the
capital, compared to 54 a year ago.”
www.camra.org.uk
There are now more UK breweries
than at any time since WWII
Vol.16 Issue 9 · October 2015
11