Wurst news: EU pulls funding for £4million Sausage World

AS sausage-making entrepreneurs, the Keeble family were convinced the nation was ready for a major attraction celebrating bangers.

But plans for the centre in North Yorkshire have been shelved after the European Union withdrew its funding.

Heck Food was to spend £4million to expand its facility at Kirklington and build a ‘Sausage World’ visitor centre to give children, tourists and locals a behind-the-scenes peek at how bangers are made.

The family firm was inspired by the repeated requests from customers to have a look around and decided to go ahead with the idea after the success of a temporary pop-up cafe and shop.

The scheme recently received permission from Hambleton Council and work was due to start in August. But the project has been put on hold after a letter from the EU said that grant funding – due to cover around 40 per cent of the cost – would no longer be available.

Jamie Keeble, Heck’s head of sales, said: ‘It’s a huge shame. We are an expanding business and this expansion would have created 60 jobs.

‘We weren’t given a reason for the decision. I think these funds have been stopped because we are not going to be in the EU any more.’

Since the Keeble family started the gourmet food company five years ago, it has grown rapidly and expects to reach a turnover of £30million this year. Last year the company made 15million sausages.

The ‘Sausage World’ attraction planned to include an 80 seat cafe and factory shop. Visitors would be taken on factory tours and be able to see how the factory worked through glass screens.

Founder Andrew Keeble said: ‘ It’s amazing how many people have asked to have a look around. If you have never seen a sausage machine work then it’s worth it. We have a machine that can produce 1,300 sausages a minute. It’s like a Gatling gun.’

Now the company is on the hunt for alternative sources of funds.

Mr Keeble said: ‘ We will talk to the Government to see what they can do.’