Society's Regional Agricultural Centre: Building Contractor Announced

Ambitious plans to create the Regional Agricultural Centre for the North are close to fruition with news that the Yorkshire Agricultural Society has appointed the building contractors after a competitive tendering process.
 
Houseman & Falshaw Ltd of Harrogate will begin work next month (June) on the £5.1m project at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate. The development will see the creation of a prestigious suite of offices, a café and shop which will promote and sell regional produce. The Yorkshire Agricultural Society is the first agricultural society in the UK to develop such an initiative.
 
Heather Parry, the Society’s Deputy Chief Executive said: “We are absolutely delighted to announce Houseman & Falshaw as our appointed contractors as their tender showed a real commitment to create a top quality building which is architecturally innovative and environmentally cutting edge.”
 
Houseman and Falshaw managing director Stuart Falshaw said: “We have a long working relationship with the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and we extremely pleased to have been chosen for this fascinating and complex development which will include a variety of special features to make it sustainable and to minimise impact on the environment. It will be a state-of-the-art project for the organisation that leads the way in agriculture in Yorkshire.”
 
A registered charity, the Society is best known as the organiser of the Great Yorkshire Show and Countryside Live. It is anticipated that construction will take about 11 months. Because of the building’s position, neither of the shows, nor the many events which take place year round on the showground will be affected.  Over the last decade the Society has spent more than £12m upgrading the 250 acre site which is the venue for a wide range of events - from the Yorkshire International Business Convention to private weddings.
 
Once the project is complete, the Society’s office staff will re-locate to the new building along with other not-for-profit rural organisations.
 
The shop will promote locally sourced food as a priority, providing an extra outlet for local farmers and producers as well as additional choice of good quality local fare for consumers.
 
The café design will enable cookery demonstrations and food launches to be staged, further highlighting the important role played in food production by farmers – a key objective of the Society.  All profits made will be ploughed back into supporting agriculture in the region.
 
Miss Parry continued: “Our vision is to be the focus for farming and the countryside in this region year round, whether that is providing a venue for the launch of a new Yorkshire cheese, giving local producers a platform for their produce, hosting cookery demonstrations, educating customers on how the food they eat is produced or supporting rural businesses by providing office accommodation.”
 
She added: “We are totally focussed on celebrating regional food and linking the consumer with the producer. With this ethos in mind, it’s our plan to promote other farm shops in the region, perhaps by having a map showing where they are located and encouraging visitors to seek them out and “buy local.”
 
Both the shop and the café will provide new opportunities for suppliers and thus help boost the local economy.  It is anticipated that around 35 new jobs will be created by the Society which already contributes around £37m to the region each year.
 
The building has been designed by P+HS Architects which has offices in Leeds and Stokesley.  With funding from Yorkshire Forward, many sustainable elements have been incorporated in the building to ensure the building has the minimum impact on the environment.   The building will be constructed from a timber frame, rainwater will be harvested and a ground source heat pump will heat the building, and solar thermal roof panels will provide a percentage of the hot water.  The farm shop and café will have a “green” sedum roof and a dry stone outer wall. Sheep’s wool will be used as insulation in the offices.  Visual panels and information boards will be in place so that visitors can see the sustainable elements and understand how they work  to encourage more people to use them.
 
Artist's Impression of Regional Agricultural Centre