New lease of life for former Buccleuch factory

04-Nov-2011 - Last updated on 04-Nov-2011 at 12:05 GMT

Castle Douglas factory will focus on smoked salmon production

A Scottish food plant which closed in controversial circumstances earlier this year has been given a new lease of life as a salmon processing unit.

Buccleuch Foods shut its Castle Douglas meat processing facility in February with the loss of 35 jobs following a merger with Campbell Brothers. The move drew criticism from workers and local MP Russell Brown.

Now entrepreneur Stewart Atkinson has taken a five-year lease on the one-acre site, which will reopen as the Castle Douglas Traditional Smokehouse.

The business plans to employ up to five people in the run-up to Christmas and to increase staff numbers in the New Year.

Bespoke equipment

There had been widespread interest in the site, according to freehold owner TAS Building Supplies, which has been carrying out work at the property in recent months.

Owner Paul Ansbro told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “We hoped the site would be taken by a food business because the buildings had been modified by Buccleuch and they had spent a lot of money making them suitable for food processing. They had put in a huge amount of bespoke electrical equipment to power food processing lines.”

Atkinson told local media he planned to begin by focusing on smoked salmon but hoped to diversify into game.