A PIONEERING scheme to set up a cheese factory in the Esk Valley is being spearheaded by a moorland councillor.

Coun Herbert Tindall sees the project as a way of creating much-needed jobs, helping farmers hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis and attracting visitors to boost local trade.

He is already thinking ahead for expansion and of linking the factory to an ice-cream parlour and laundry service.

He wants to reverse the migration of local people to the hugely popular Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes.

The hunt for premises could start within months and a likely site could be around Staithes.

Coun Tindall unveiled the idea at a meeting of Danby Parish Council of which he is chairman.

But the move would be undertaken through his role as a member of both North Yorkshire and Scarborough councils.

Various strands of regeneration funding would be used to finance the plan.

"We have to use this money wisely and create jobs for years to come," said Coun Tindall, who has developed the idea because of the success of the Hawes operation.

"Let's put funding to good use, providing jobs in places where there are none, also involving farmers and villagers."

The scheme is in its very early stages but Coun Tindall and others have already talked with the Staithes residents' association about the possibilities.

The village is favoured as it is near the A174 and not far from Teesside. It also has chronic unemployment.

"The factory has to be in the right place to benefit hotels along the coast," said Coun Tindall, who also wants to link the project to the Captain Cook heritage trail.

He sees the factory as a co-operative run by local people, farmers and villagers. If the idea takes off, a project manager would be appointed.

No figure has been put on the cost of the scheme but Coun Tindall said a key concern was to find a site which would be ripe for expansion.

There could then be a spin-off with a laundry, to handle work from the cheese factory and the public.

"Many people in Staithes have no drying space as the houses are so close together and there is demand for a laundry," he said. "An ice-cream parlour could also follow, so we need a biggish site."

Scarborough council is to look at the feasibility of the idea.

"Busloads of people from this area travel to the Hawes cheese factory," he said. "If we had a local site we could attract visitors of our own."

If the plan develops, Coun Tindall intends to launch an appeal for people to submit local recipes with a view to creating a speciality cheese for the region.

"I think it would be worthwhile," he said. "We have the background here as at one time most farms made their own cheeses."