A doomed horticultural research centre re-opened for business today, promising to put Yorkshire brand vegetables back on to local menus.

Stockbridge House at Cawood, near Selby, closed on March 31 - but is now trading again under the name of Stockbridge Technology Centre (STC).

Formerly a Ministry of Agriculture experimental station, the site has now been taken over by the independent STC Ltd, saving 25 of the 50 jobs there.

The company today revealed a new project to develop and deliver local food to the York and Selby tourist catering industry, including restaurants, hotels and pubs, working hand in hand with local growers

In a joint venture with North Yorkshire County Council, using Government single regeneration budget money, STC plans to exploit the huge local demand for home-grown products.

Julian Davies, one of three business managers spearheading the new company, said today: "People have been amazed during the foot-and-mouth crisis how many hundreds of miles their food has travelled before it gets to supermarkets.

"We plan to get vegetables and herbs, produced locally by market gardeners, on to plates quicker, so it's fresher, tastier and more nutritional.

"There are also tremendous opportunities for oriental crops and herbs, currently brought in from overseas, to be grown and sold locally."

Mr Davies said they would also be concentrating on the development of organic Yorkshire brand produce, with the help of Newcastle University.

Mr Davies said: "Our aim is organic seasonal crops such as parsnips in winter and leeks in autumn, instead of importing them."

STC director Graham Ward, who is also general manager of Snaith Salads, said they were also planning a new composting initiative with the University of York and the City of York Council.

This would produce "alternative York compost" as a peat substitute by recycling domestic and garden waste, helping to eliminate the need for landfill sites.

Work on pesticides and disease would continue.

He said the UK Trust for the Advancement of Agrarian Practice hoped to buy the site from MAFF before next spring and then rent the it to STC Ltd.

Selby MP John Grogan said: "There's tremendous goodwill among horticulturalists throughout the country to keep Stockbridge House going as a centre of excellence.

"Within a year, we could end up with more jobs on site than before."

Updated: 16:43 Monday, April 09, 2001