Braehead Foods threatens to quit Ayrshire base

A Scottish food producer that supplies hotels and restaurants has warned it will abandon its Ayrshire base - and possibly Scotland - if the local council continues to oppose its expansion plans.

Craig Stevenson (pictured), managing director of Braehead Foods which processes venison game and cooked game, wants to sell a 1.5 acre plot of land to fund a bigger factory.

However, the plan has been rejected by East Ayrshire council because the land is situated on a green belt.

The sale would have netted £300,000 and funded the relocation of the plant to a one acre site at Moorfield North Industrial Park in Kilmarnock.

Stevenson said the company, which has a turnover of £4.75m and 54 employees, will not be able to expand if the council continues to thwart the company's plans.

"There's no room to expand on our existing site in Bonnyton Industrial Estate. We will have no choice but to slow or stop expanding. I am at a loss to understand why East Ayrshire Council does not want thriving businesses."

A spokeswoman for East Ayrshire Council said: 'The committee... have to weigh carefully all matters that are relevant to each planning application before making is decision and in this instance felt that the arguments by the applicant did not outweigh other factors."

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