AN ICE cream entrepreneur is hoping council planners don't give him the cold shoulder as he bids to expand.

Steven Darvill, owner of the Handmade Ice Cream Company, which is currently based at Haverthwaite, has submitted a planning application to South Lakeland District Council.

He is planning to expand the company's manufacturing plant as well as opening a new ice cream parlour which would give local residents the chance to try the fresh produce straight from the supplier.

The application requires a change of use to part of a building in Crakeside Business Park, Greenodd.

The company currently predominantly sells from business to business, but is now looking to expand in a new direction.

Mr Darvill said: “We are hoping to move to a different unit and also have the ice cream parlour open to the public, where we make the ice cream on site.

“We’re quite excited.

“We’ve always operated business to business but always wanted to try selling direct to the public.

“Assuming everything goes to plan I’d like to be open for Easter.

“There’s still a bit of work to do, but it’s exciting.”

Mr Darvill confirmed with the expansion, the company would be hiring more people.

He said: “We’re probably doubling the size of our unit, so there will definitely be more jobs that need doing. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Prior to opening The Handmade Ice Cream Company, Mr Darvill spent 15 years as a professional pastry chef in some of the country’s top hotels and restaurants.

Through his experiences in the kitchen he identified a gap in the market for chefs who wanted fresh, natural ice cream which did not include artificial flavour compounds, syrups, colourings and extracts, but weren’t able to make it themselves.

He founded the company in 2012 and has operated on the ethos of 'the best products require the best ingredients', using only natural ingredients and no artificial flavours or preservatives.