Former DAERA minister visits rural businesses in North Down

During the visit, the Minister was able to see with his own eyes two relatively recently established Kylestone enterprises Nurseries and Olive Tree Bakes Groomsport and Four Acres Farm in Donaghady, and a visit to German Shepherd Rescue RRR in Craigantle, Hollywood.

Owned and managed by Mr and Mrs Vance, Kylestone Nurseries is a rural horticulture business supplying bedding plants, shrubs and trees to the community.

Owned and run by owners Mr and Mrs Vance and their son, the minister wanted to know about any challenges this rural business is facing and how the business has survived the challenging times of Covid. The Vance family has extensive experience in plant propagation and cultivation and are committed to passing on their expertise to customers and sharing their love of sustainable gardening. There is an on-site farm shop run by Olive Tree Bakes.

Stephen Dunn, commenting on the visit, said: “It was great to invite the minister to North Down and get out on the ground and see the businesses that fall under the remit of the minister’s department.

“As we face a cost of living crisis, it’s more important than ever to support local sustainable businesses, and I’m always encouraged by the innovation and dedication of our local businesses who work so hard every day.”

Councilor MacArthur, who also joined the visit, commented that “relatively new rural businesses such as Kylestone Nurseries have struggled to grow their business during Covid and now face significant increases in energy costs”. This winter it’s vital that we all shop local, and Kylestone Nurseries is on our doorstep, providing shoppers with great quality produce. The homemade baked goods supplied by Olive Tree Bakes are a great asset to this rural business.”

The second stop of the day was at Four Acres Farm, a rural tourism and farm diversification business owned and operated by Mr. Kyle McBride. While on site, the minister was able to learn how the company uses solar energy, planted thousands of trees and stocked the on-site lake with trout for those who want to fish. Established during the Covid period, this business also plans to expand in the future and bring people and jobs to this rural area of ​​Donaghadee.

Stephen Dunn MLA said: “I would like to congratulate Kyle McBride on what he has achieved to date. He developed a first-class rural business during a particularly difficult time.

“The minister was also pleased that the business has plans for further development, took advantage of this DAERA financing and want to invest in agriculture on this site. I wish them success in their plans.”

DAERA has developed codes of practice for non-farm animals such as dogs, so the Minister was very interested in the work being done by RRR German Shepherds, run by Raymond and Cathy Quinn.