“Development”

So this is it, it’s out there in the public domain (www.northhemel.co.uk).  Dad and I had no prior knowledge of this going out and feel rather blindsided by its publication.  It is however the direction of travel for our farmland.

There are a few reasons for going down this path, the first is that we saw it as inevitable.  Back in the 1960’s my grandfather had a nervous breakdown as he saw his award winning farm (for wartime productivity) compulsory purchased for Hemel New Town.  He then had to endure watching the cookie-cutter houses of Woodhall farm and Grove hill erected, had to see the history that he and his predecessors had nurtured destroyed.  For his 200 acres he received less money than the local scrapyard received for 1/2 an acre leaving him feeling cheated and devastated.

The next reason is farm profitability.  We farm about 550 acres and the average profit for the last 10 years (I did the calculations yesterday) was £114.  That’s it, not a misprint.  That’s all the profit to share as wages between the business owners.  It’s not even enough to buy newspapers.

Given these two factors almost 5 years ago we looked for a way to progress and engaged an Lincolnshire agency to help us. We had two very clear criteria for the whole process:

1. Be excellent.  Meaning have a quality output with exceptional standards.  Reflect the local architectural standards and be complimentary to the natural environment
2. Be sympathetic to our neighbours, let’s try to have the maximum positive impact to those that have lived on and around this area for years.

We looked for various partners and agreed a way forward with Bloor Homes.  It’s a long term partnership and one that we believe will deliver against these values.  As you can see we’ve specifically tried to protect the Redbourn valley from development.

This “progress” will likely happen over a years long timeframe and I’m quite wary of the effect it will have on Dad.  I hope you can see that given our history it’s not about “selling out” but is about protecting the history and legacy of the Stanbridge Family as much as we can.  Is about protecting the mental health of my 75 year old Father.  In our perfect world we would remain farming this land (which 7 generations of my ancestors have nurtured) for many years to come however circumstances don’t allow it.

We look to move on positively, hope to diversify the farm so more can enjoy it and look to shape this development with road names etc so that the history of the area is respected.

Please do come and visit, do talk to Dad, do enjoy our Glamping, camping, onsite brewery (www.farrbrew.co.uk), Dog training (HT training) with more to come.