Ludlow was today praised as an example of rural ‘best practice’ after a high-powered foreign delegation visited the town.

The tour, which was organised by the European Policy Information Centre in conjunction with Advantage West Midlands’ Rural Regeneration Zone, saw ministers from Bosnia & Herzegovina enjoy firsthand insights into some of the area’s most exciting projects that are helping to create jobs, promote local produce and boost the economy.

Led by Mladen Zirojevic, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the group were treated to lunch and a guided tour of the £2m Ludlow Food Centre and a visit to the town’s Eco-Park and newly launched Rural Enterprise Centre, before finishing the day off with a question and answer session with local authorities at Dunkerton Cider House and Restaurant in Herefordshire.

The trip - part of a three–day stay in the UK - was designed to show the Bosnian delegation how strategy and policies are delivered at ground level and how important it is to secure the buy-in of local people and business.

Peter Pawsey, Chairman of the Rural Regeneration Zone (RRZ), was delighted the area was chosen as a ‘best practice’ example:

“Thanks to the structure of the Zone and our ability to bring together a number of private and public sector partners, we are able to be innovative in our approach to the growing needs of rural areas and this has been recognised by this visit.

“The Ministers, who represent Bosnia & Herzegovina and the entities of the Republic of Srpska, the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Brcko district, have come to England to learn from some of the projects we have implemented, especially in relation to rural development and its social, economic and political impacts.”

He continued: “They have met a lot of powerful delegates in specialist UK organisations so our role was to take them to the coalface and introduce them to the people who have benefitted most from the work the RRZ is doing.”

One of the highlights of the tour was the chance to look around Ludlow Food Centre, arguably the area’s fastest growing businesses.

The venture, which was developed by Sandy Boyd, thrives on stocking locally produced food and drink and is responsible for employing 80 people directly and hundreds more in the supply chain.

In addition, the Food Centre also boasts specialists workshops run by entrepreneurs who make coffee, cheeses, jam and cakes.
 

Sandy Boyd picked up the story: “We have tried to create an experience rather than just somewhere you pop in for the grocery shop. The building, which also features a state-of-the-art training centre, has been designed to showcase all that is good about agriculture and local produce.

“To host such a high profile visit is a great honour and I hope that some of the aspects of our business can be replicated and taken back to Bosnia & Herzegovina to help them develop their rural economy even further.”

Mr Mladen Zirojevic was extremely impressed with what he saw during the day:

“We have learned many lessons from talking to UK rural partners and this delegation will play an important role in helping develop agriculture and rural economic policies and their planning and implementation in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

“The chance to see how some of these techniques and ‘innovations’ are delivered to real people and companies for the good of the economy is extremely exciting and something we would like to replicate to help our own villages, towns and cities to develop.”

The Advantage West Midlands-funded Rural Regeneration Zone is the only one of its kind in England and covers Herefordshire, Shropshire and parts of Worcestershire.

By working with a host of strategic local partners, the Zone is delivering key projects and programmes designed to encourage enterprise, economic and social inclusion, skills and strong growth in environmental technologies.