Stilton-making dairy's future under threat as Arla Foods says Melton Mowbray site is up for sale

The Arla foods dairy in Melton Mowbray, which has historically been known as Tuxford and Tebbutt, and is one of only six dairies to make Stilton cheese, faces an uncertain future Picture: Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images

A centuries-old Stilton cheese-making dairy faces an uncertain future after it was put up for sale.

Only six dairies in the country, across three counties, are licensed to make Stilton, which is protected by a Certification Trade Mark and EU Protected Designation of Origin.

The six are Nottinghamshire's Colston Bassett Dairy Limited, Cropwell Bishop Creamery and Shirevale, Hartington Creamery in Derbyshire, and Leicestershire's Long Clawson Dairy and Tuxford & Tebbutt Creamery

It has been revealed that Arla, which owns the Arla Melton Mowbray Creamery UK in Melton Mowbray, is seeking a buyer for the site - which under the name Tuxford and Tebbutt has been making cheese since 1780.

Arla says it is liaising with the 60 people it employs at the factory during this uncertain period.

The Arla site will continue to be operational and there will be no impact to production, customers, or employees during what the company calls the "strategic operational review process".

Fran Ball, VP of production at Arla Foods, said: “At Arla we are committed to supporting all colleagues through periods of change and we understand that today’s announcement will bring a sense of uncertainty for those who work at Melton Mowbray and those who work directly with the site team. Over the last few years, the speciality cheese market in the UK, which includes Stilton, has continued to decline, and as a farmer owned co-operative, we are therefore looking at what this means for our business so we can continue to return a fair price back to our 2,000 UK farmer owners.”

Arla Foods is a global dairy company and co-operative owned by around 8,492 dairy farmers, with approximately 2,053 of them being British.

It has production facilities in 11 countries and sales offices in a further 30, making Arla the world’s fifth largest dairy company and largest supplier of organic dairy products.

Ms Ball added: “Here at Arla Foods, we are proud of the heritage that we have from our creameries across the UK. We are privileged to employ some of the finest cheese makers in the country, which includes those at our Arla Melton Mowbray Creamery UK. We’d like to reassure shoppers that there will be no impact to the supply of our products, during this review period.”

If Tuxford and Tebbutt is closed, locals fear it will be a blow to Melton’s reputation as the rural capital of food.

Matthew O’Callaghan, chair of the Melton Mowbray Food Partnership and organiser of the annual Artisan Cheese Fair, said, “This will be a tremendous loss for the town and not only for the 60 or so people who are employed there. This is the last Stilton cheese maker in the town. Although it only started Stilton cheese making after the war it is still one of the oldest businesses in town, previously having made Melton Mowbray pork pie and so has always been an essential part of our food heritage.”

Arla expects to provide an update on the review by April.

The dairy co-operative has a total of more than 18,000 employees and its products are sold under the well-known brands Arla, Lurpak and Castello in more than 100 countries.