Family firm expands into new facility

A renowned family butchers has expanded into a new unit to provide a standalone meat-cutting and processing facility, in a £100,000 project.
Turnbulls butchery manager Peter McEwan is pictured in the beef maturation unit at the shops new meat-processing plant.Turnbulls butchery manager Peter McEwan is pictured in the beef maturation unit at the shops new meat-processing plant.
Turnbulls butchery manager Peter McEwan is pictured in the beef maturation unit at the shops new meat-processing plant.

R Turnbull & Sons, in Alnwick, has taken over a new 1,000 sq ft unit on the town’s Lionheart Industrial Estate to meet business expansion requirements.

This frees up much-needed space at its Market Street shop to further upgrade facilities in-house.

Pictured in Turnbulls new meat processing unit are, from left, butchers Dan Turnbull, Philip Short and Peter McEwan.Pictured in Turnbulls new meat processing unit are, from left, butchers Dan Turnbull, Philip Short and Peter McEwan.
Pictured in Turnbulls new meat processing unit are, from left, butchers Dan Turnbull, Philip Short and Peter McEwan.
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The project has attracted support funding from LEADER, made available through the Rural Development Programme for England, which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union.

Turnbull’s owner Mark Turnbull said: “We had long outgrown our town-centre shop, which is a Grade-II listed building, and decided the time was right to move our meat cutting and processing operation to a separate location.

“This will allow us not only to make further improvements at the shop, primarily to our in-house bakery, but also to expand our business in general.

“These enhanced facilities will enable us to pursue potential new retail opportunities and supply more customers across the region – delicatessens, hotels, restaurants and pubs – with Northumberland-sourced beef, lamb and pork, including our award-winning sausages, bacon, pies and other products.”

Pictured in Turnbulls new meat processing unit are, from left, butchers Dan Turnbull, Philip Short and Peter McEwan.Pictured in Turnbulls new meat processing unit are, from left, butchers Dan Turnbull, Philip Short and Peter McEwan.
Pictured in Turnbulls new meat processing unit are, from left, butchers Dan Turnbull, Philip Short and Peter McEwan.
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Turnbull’s has also been accepted into the highly acclaimed Produced in Northumberland initiative, fronted by Northumberland County Council, whose key aim is to verify that foods are actually produced in the county or, in the case of meat, that it originates from animals that have lived their entire lives in the county.

Mark is the fifth generation to work in the family firm, which was founded in 1880 and remains one of Alnwick’s oldest established businesses.

He also holds a high profile ambassadorial role in the UK meat sector as national chairman of the Butchers Q Guild, which comprises almost 130 award-winning independent butchers across the UK.