Author: Mike Stanbridge

A flurry of activity at the farm at the moment so the day was filled with preparation.   We have our first private event at the farm this weekend so the glamping site was filled with mowers, woodchip, strimmers and tractors.  It’s looking alive and amazing again.

Then we’re warming up for harvest and our newly refurbished grain store is nearly ready.

Geoff, Stuart, Eric and team (I’ve even seen Dan in the cameras) have done an amazing job.   Old reception pits have been filled, the floor concreted etc.   The shed really is ready for it’s modern role.

The bad news of the week was a contribution from fly tippers into one of our fields.  They cut through the lock with an angle grinder and simply dumped lorry loads of waste at the end of the field.  We have to clear this at our cost as to move it to the road would make us the criminals.  They also stole an expensive chain which was used to secure the field.  It means we’re going to need to physically block the entrance causing access challenges for all.

We’re still working through what was left by the brewery, I moved (with the help of some new friends) 81 kegs from 30 different breweries to the outside of the barn ready for collection.  Some full,  most empty.  It does show how the business simply stopped one day and left us to clear what was left.  It’s quite frustrating,  particularly with the debts left behind and the ongoing legal processes.

The refurbishment of office and kitchen continues with huge strides being made:

And then we move into the next major event.   The long awaited driveway resurfacing which starts on Monday.   To be ready I’ve pegged out new passing places, cleared the entire yard (it’s never looked so stark), moved tractors, containers, water tanks and skips.  I’m really looking forward to the resurfacing being done as it will completely change the look of the farm,  make it more attractive to our guests and clients, and,  most importantly save my back from shovelling 5-10 tonnes of road planings/gravel a year as i try to keep up with the erosion caused by rain and traffic.

We also had news that one of our residential tenants is moving, they have been a great tenant and we wish them well in their new adventure.   At the same time we’re marketing their property we will be marketing the brewery barn so there will (hopefully) soon be some new faces around the farm.

Finally. Even with all this activity time keeps ticking and we can see that harvest is just around the corner.  The wheat is turning yellow and the rape (with its “pod stick” spray to prevent seed loss) is starting to become more brittle.   Geoff and team will soon be very busy!

Our new Glamping managers  first tractor experience (and the only reason she came to the farm today…

Geoff and team have been amazing at their patience in waiting for the electricity works to be completed and have worked around it for months.   It’s finally clear now but even without it being finalised look what they’ve achieved! Just in time for harvest too!

The exodus of Farrbrew kit continued today but at the end we had the keys back.   Then to look inside and discover just what has been left…

Insolvency is hard!  It’s hard on the team that go though it,  then hard on those that are left with the residue.

All of this is now my challenge.  But first we need to let the dust settle,  work out how we market the building and then most importantly apply for the 6 months empty building business rate relief.  Once I’ve got final clearance from the legal team I’ll be looking to clear that which is unusable and attempt to have the barn in a state where we can show it to prospective tenants.

The best way we can prepare for that though is to get the drive resurfaced and to do that i needed to clear the yard.  Then tidy up the grass areas,  fill in the electricity hole (finally) and spread some of the woodchip.  The whole yard now looks much more inviting!

And the barn itself,  ready for it’s initial photoshoot for marketing

With the submitted planning permission (www.northhemel.co.uk) I think this building has huge potential for a customer facing site.   The brewery would have been ideal, alternatively a garden centre? Pet experiences? Classic cars?

If you have any suggestions for what to do with the barn or contents please do let me know.

FarrBrew have now left the farm.   It was really sad to see the insolvency team remove van, forklift and other equipment today.   It brings a very short chapter of the farm to a premature end.   They were compromised by the state of the hospitality industry which left them in difficulties.  It also left them owing us for rent along with a building full of their kit.  I’m hoping that we can move forward with new tenants soon but it definitely wasn’t part of the business or cashflow plan!

We wish the team well!

The exciting news of the week was the long awaited disconnection of the legacy electricity supply.  It means that Geoff and team can finally finish the barn and we will have a place for our harvest.   It’s taken 6 months to do this and we end up with about 2 weeks to spare!

This week we’ve also agreed the details behind the refurbishment of kitchen and office and are looking forward to work starting next week.   We’re also awaiting dates for the driveway resurfacing and desperately trying to coordinate that around a planned party and harvest movements.

Then,  for fun our tree surgeon created us a new tractor.   I do love working with the team we’ve created, such professionalism but also such fun!

Back in July 2025 I wrote this article, the words in it remain true today (please do have a read) https://stanbridgefarms.co.uk/2025/07/08/development/

So it’s with very mixed emotions that I now highlight the now validated planning application that is going to become a huge part of our life and future:

https://planningapplications.stalbans.gov.uk/planning/search-applications?civica.query.FullTextSearch=north%20hemel%20hempstead#VIEW?RefType=PBDC&KeyNo=136971

If you do have questions then the answers are most likely included in this pack.  I particularly suggest reading the design and access statement.

There is a fundamental difference between a 1960’s tractor and a 2010’s… a computer.

This means that one is easy to fix, change, move etc while the other one argues at every step…

It took me about 3 hours just to start the “new” Claas today.   Most of that time was fighting a battery that was completely dead and an engine that hadn’t started in a long time.

With the “old” massey I did unwittingly confirm that the hydraulic flow to the bucket does in fact work.   I found out by disconnecting it,  leaving the pipe loose and then cleverly distributing oil over my workspace.  Doh!

It was however quite a fun afternoon and I do enjoy tinkering and tractoring.

The morning was the opposite of tinkering.  We had our quarterly CFA review with Geoff, Ed and Greg.  Was Greg’s first time chairing and I think he did an excellent job.   We worked out the basis of harvest ’25’s profit share (yes,  almost 2 years after we sow the crops we get to acknowledge whether we made a profit.  This year we did).

Then we had a meeting with Alistair and Fraser from Brown and Co our property agents.   Really productive and started to lay out a master plan for the farm.   Our conclusion was to get the road resurfaced (supplier now confirmed, awaiting dates) and see if we can start with a pop-up coffee shop.  Then try to integrate that with the glamping and then look to a more permanent building.

We discussed the rental of 2 buildings with an eye to both now and the future.   Disappointingly that includes the brewery who recently went bust.  If anyone knows someone who might like a site like that please let me know.   At the moment it’s in the middle of the countryside but there will soon be very many customers on the doorstep. Our discussions included the two secret projects, dog park, glamping, coffee shops etc.  This is in addition to creating a plan for the next phases of the building journey and discussing responses to local questions when the planning application is validated.

Finally some tractoring to close the day.   I mowed the party field for John/Justin’s event and cleared the pond too.

Another good day.

Mixed news since the last update.   We’ve had progress on the housing development and disappointing news about Farrbrew our tenant.  Hopefully I can share more on both soon.

In the meantime we’ve been progressing with general farm maintenance and making sure that we have things in place ready for harvest.  The grain store refurbishment is amazing and is currently held up with the electricity works.   The bureaucracy with UKPN and how it links with Eon is horrendously frustrating and I’m really grateful for Lee’s (Handyman Group) tenacity.

The gardeners have done some great work tidying the back garden and cleared some old paths.  I delicately and gently (with a JCB) moved a slab that had been lifted by tree roots away.   Was surprised to find a bumblebees nest under it (sorry bees).

Dad has been busy mowing ready for Phoebe and Alex to do their test tent errection soon (hopefully pics to follow).   I put some ropes up to surround the woodshed which has seen better days.

The tree surgeons have done some great work by the pond and are now working their way down the drive.  It’s always great to have Will and Owen on site they bring such enthusiasm to the farm alongside professional expertise and an excellent work ethic.   If you need any work on your trees done then I definitely recommend these guys.

Then it’s time to enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful site we have.   I took a few pictures with the drone, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I also had a great chat with a driveway surfacing team.   They will have a look next week and there is a chance that the driveway will be redone before August.   That would really change the site.

The next visit is likely to be busy too, Contract Farming discussions with Geoff, Greg and Ed planned along with Architectural reviews with Alistair and Fraser.   While we’ve done a lot there is still much more to come!

I have cameras placed around the farm for security reasons,  this one is positioned so we can see who is arriving on our glamping site and this morning I woke to an alert about a new guest.

It really is beautiful to have this sort of wildlife so close to us and I hope that our human guests will get to see this young man when they stay over the summer.

Today was sunny and great to be pottering.  Really appreciated Lee’s company and good to catch up with Michael, Dad and Reg too.

I was so impressed with the work the gardeners have done to the farmhouse.  They have really opened it up.

I did some mowing, some tidying and reminded myself of the drop kerb on the Redbourn Road for an exciting opportunity.  Looked at possible farm entrances and reviewed the health and safety jobs list (excellent progress).

The painful part at the moment is managing cash as I had been expecting some compensation,  some rent etc.   It makes planning awkward…  Lee is also fighting the good fight on our electricity changes with some real communication challenges with NPN which is creating more stress than it ever should.   Get that done and the grain store can be finished ready for harvest, then we can resurface the road etc.  It’s all a great line of domino’s at the moment.

Anyway, it really is beautiful at the farm at the moment.  Here’s my view as I leave the farm this evening on my  way home.

The mower is now buzzing as the grass is growing.

The glamping site is looking good with tons (and tons) of logs available to segregate tents and edge firepits.

The logs have come from the huge effort from Will and Owen at WillOtrees.  If you’re close to the farm and need a tree surgeon then please do look them up.  They,  as are all the contractors aligned to Lee at the handyman group, are professional, hard working and good fun to work with.

(https://www.instagram.com/willo_trees?igsh=MTltNjA0d2FnYnJubA==). 

The crops are growing well and I caught up with Geoff on Friday while he was spraying with Woody and aligned plans for the  grain store and open barn.   It means that once NPN finally finish their electricity works and we’ve completed the new grain store we can start thinking about what we do next with our open barn.  I’m really looking forward to the coming discussions with Fraser and Alistair about how we can move that (and the rest of the site forward).

As part of my day yesterday I moved Steve and Tobi’s truck and caravan as,  after the tree works, Dad now has an amazingly open garden.  It’s now mown and awaiting gardeners to spruce it up.

We also have dates for part 1 of our house and office refurb too.  Bespoke bookcases, benches and office layout to come.

We also had initial discussions with a possible wedding dress company looking for a shop at the farm as well as embedding our relationship with Phoebe (SASA) and Alex.

The frustrating things of the last week relate to our commercial let and the ongoing planning delays (this time mostly caused by me relating to the complexity of the interaction between our commercial arrangement and business structure).  Hopefully all resolved soon.

We hope that Farrbrew will be opening the bar soon.   When they do please do join me on a sunny Friday evening and I can show you around and explain our plans.

The rain stopped enough to solve a few long standing challenges.   Farrbrew has been very patient with us as we were unable to cover up the electricity trench to a decent standard.  It was so wet we simply couldn’t get any kit close.  Look at the difference now though:

The tree surgeons have been busy too, making safe many old trees around the glamping site, performing long overdue maintenance and improving the appearance of the whole site.

The electricity work has continued with the new plantroom now weatherproof:

I filled the trench and tidied the yard too:

Along the way I also managed to review the brewery soakaway.   Hopefully that long standing headache now has a clear path forward.

There is also some news about glamping.   It’s a real shame that Steve and Tobi won’t be continuing this summer, they made a huge difference to the site,  supported Dad and injected  real energy into the farm.   We thank them and wish them well in their Spanish adventure.

With them leaving I’ve had to think about this season.   We made the hard decision to cancel some bookings in the absence of a management team and did some real soul searching about the viability of the business.   More news on the future to come soon I hope.

The other farm enterprises continue,  the bees are starting to wake up.   The model aircraft are flying and our residential tenants are happy.   Dad has a new mower to play with too and once he’s gained confidence he will be buzzing round with a smile.

The main headache of the moment is the ongoing planning discussion.   Once again it seems like it’s two weeks away,  however it’s felt like that since mid November so we’re hoping for progress.

To summarise,  the crops and business are growing and the sun is starting to shine.  We hope that you will all soon be able to come up to the farm and enjoy a beer in the evening sun.