£4m county produce hall is opened

A £4m project promoting local produce has opened in Cornwall.

Bosses at the Kingsley Village Food and Craft Hall at Fraddon hope to increase the sale of Cornish food and drink.

They said the hall, which took a year to build, would go a long way towards helping farmers, growers and food producers get year-round business.

About £650,000 of the costs came from Objective One funding and it is estimated it will create 86 full-time jobs in the first three years.

Deserving better

Hall owner Mark Simpson said the idea was inspired by hearing how people wanted a permanent place to buy local products.

He said: "We've been listening to people and the big buzz is 'local food produce', so we've done something about it.

"Local produce deserves something better then just a tented market in a town centre or a farmers' market in a field."

Carleen Kelemen, director of the Objective One Partnership, said: "This development will house the best of Cornish produce under one roof and will attract business from across the region."

As well as the food hall, there is a craft hall which houses more than 100 craft suppliers who can demonstrate their trades in action to the public.

There is also a gallery featuring local artists, exhibition space, and conference facilities.