A traditional pork preservation process, known as the Wiltshire Cure, is to be central to a bid by Calne to boost its tourism numbers.

During the two-year Our Place project, the Calne Culture and Tourism Working Group will use the curing process, first used by the Harris brothers who built the Harris factory, to encourage more visitors.

Sarah Harris founded the Harris firm in 1770 and its Wiltshire Cure was developed by her grandson, George, who used ice houses to keep meat fresher for longer.

The cold temperatures, which by 1887 were created by the first fully mechanical refrigeration plant, also allowed it to use less salt, creating a milder cure.

Sandridge Farm in Bromham still cures meet in this traditional way. Sides of pork are immersed in brine for three to four days, then stacked in a cool cellar for two weeks to mature.

Unlike a lot of mass-produced bacon, no water is added.

Bob Marshall, chairman of the working group, said: “By reclaiming the curing process for Calne, the hope is to create a platform from which to deliver visitor activities and attractions, as well as opportunities for new events.

“We are optimistic, but we have a heck of a lot of work to do. The project involves a radical rethink of the way the community area is presented locally, nationally and internationally and will require a lot of hard work and significant resources to implement the ideas.”

The Calne: Our Place project aims to use the Wiltshire Cure in a similar way to Cheddar’s cheese and Melton Mowbray’s pork pies to increase visitor numbers, employment opportunities and visitor spend.

The group was given £13,000 by the Government to develop proposals for tourism and, together with Heavenly consultancy, an approach is being developed around the heritage of the Wiltshire Cure.

The group hopes to persuade more retailers and restaurants to stock products and use events like September’s Calne Food and Drink festival, artefacts from the factory in the Heritage Centre and a new Calne Heritage Quarter to show off the heritage.

The Harris factory dominated life in Calne for decades. When it closed in 1983, it had a workforce of 2,000.