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Get your free copy13 May 2022, 08:13 AM
- Norfolk Showground is preparing to construct an ambitious £2.3million food hall and market garden, just outside Norwich
The Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association (RNAA) has revealed plans for its flagship project to showcase the county’s celebrated food and drink producers.
The new venture is set to include a shop, café, butcher and delicatessen championing Norfolk produce, along with an outdoor seating area and a two-acre market garden which will be the base for a community growing project.
Estimated at £2.3million, the 80,000 sq feet ‘super farm shop’ will be open all year round, aiming to be a flagship destination for the sale of Norfolk food and drink produce.
The RNAA, which also runs the Royal Norfolk Show, said the proposals are part of a drive to maximise “the full potential of the showground, as a place where people go for enjoyment and to connect with food, farming, and the countryside”.
Speaking to Speciality Food, Mark Nicholas MBE DL, managing director at Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association commented, ‘We are thrilled to unveil plans to build a Norfolk Food Hall and Market Garden project.
“The Food Hall will be a flagship destination, promoting the best of Norfolk produce, at the Norfolk Showground site, the home of the Royal Norfolk Show. The Market Garden is an exciting scheme which will encourage people to get involved with growing and understanding the positive environmental impact of a local supply chain.
“It is going to be a ‘super farm shop’, but it is going to be much more than that. It is going to be blended into the surroundings of the showground, there’s going to be a café operation as part of the building, and we are going to put in place a community fruit and veg growing scheme.
“So you can come to the Norfolk Food Hall, you can park, go and buy really nice Norfolk food and drink, have a cup of coffee or meet someone for lunch, and you can get involved in a community growing project all year round.”
The RNAA has launched a consultation to gather public views on the proposals ahead of a formal planning application, which is expected in mid-May.
