THE decline of hops has opened new doors for a Herefordshire business that has embraced the new economy.

After 400 years of hop production, the Pudge family has finally drawn stumps on the crop as a commercial proposition.

But they have become used to managing change and are now better known for the Hop Pocket Craft Centre, at Bishops Frome.

"We started the move away from hops when it was clear that the writing was on the wall," said 29-year-old Matthew Pudge, who has forsaken a career in computers in London to return to his native county to manage the complex.

"It is sad that hundreds of years of tradition has ended but we have to move on and the craft centre is growing with more visitors every year," added Matthew.

Last year 125,000 people visited the complex of craft shops, workshops, a garden centre and restaurant.

Most visitors come from Herefordshire and Worcestershire but word is getting around and people are regularly starting to arrive from Birmingham and Gloucestershire.

The development offers enough to do to take up best part of a full day, is slowly starting to get on the tourist trail and is an increasingly popular stop off point for coach parties.

"Most of our visitors come as a result of word of mouth referral and once people have come to see us they usually return.

"We do some advertising and work with local tourist boards but too many people still do not know that we exist so there is more marketing to do."

Since opening in a "very modest way" in 1989 the family has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in the centre.

"There is something here to suit all pockets with gifts costing just a few pence and objects for the home worth thousands of pounds," added Matthew.

Local jobs have been provided with 70 people working either directly for the craft centre or in the 25 workshop units that have been let so far.

Exotic

These range from traditional catering and garden centre sales jobs to more exotic work such as producing hand made "fairy wings."

For the future there are plans to renovate other disused farm buildings and create more workshop units.

Hops are a high-risk labour intensive crop, which puts Herefordshire growers at a distinct disadvantage in a global market where they can be produced more cheaply by the low wage economies of Eastern Europe, China and Central America.

In a world where the choice is to adapt and survive or to stand still and die, the Hop Pocket Centre is proving that there is a way forward even if the traditionalists may not much like it.