Help us Save the 12-acre Cottage Field

When the rest of Fordhall Organic Farm (128-acres) was placed into community-ownership in 2006, we always knew the landowners would wish to sell the remaining 12-acre Cottage Field for development at some point. We just hoped that time would never come. Unfortunately, it has. Whilst there is no planning permission currently granted, we know this is the landowner’s intention. We have voiced the strong will of our community to purchase Cottage Field from them (at market value) and place it into community-ownership with the rest of Fordhall, but that option is not currently on the table.

The loss of Cottage Field means a large proportion of our tenant’s winter-grazingarea has now been lost. Arthur Hollins’ outdoor grazing system (permaculture-based Foggage farming), which Ben continues to operate, relies on these fields for out-wintering his 100% pasture-fed livestock. Without them, extra pressure has been put on the rest of our land, additional winter fodder has been purchased and Ben has had to rent other land in the locality (on short-term leases) to be able to maintain his business. In fact, he rents a further 148-acres, demonstrating the clear need for our tenant to regain Cottage Field to sustain his livelihood and the farm’s viability. Ultimately, the sustainable farming system and the people our farm employ are being put in severe jeopardy.

There is so much that will be put at stake if we lose this field forever. We will no longer be able to hold large community events without the use of this field for car parking. All of the community work we do and offer will be at risk if the farm’s viability is compromised and our capacity for building community benefit is limited.

More than this, we have to think of the future. When Ben and Charlotte are no longer with us, Fordhall will remain in community ownership and will offer another lease to a new farmer entering the industry. We need to keep the farmstead whole to ensure there is a viable sized farm to offer our new tenants and to support the myriad of community projects we run.

Fordhall is a successful working example of how small family farms can thrive when there are close connections to the local community. Please support us to ensure this continues to be the case.

We need to demonstrate to the landowner and the council how much support there is to ensure Cottage Field remains part of Fordhall Organic Farm. We need to show them that maintaining small sized family farms is important! It is important for our livelihoods, it is important for nature, important for our economy and it is important for our communities.

We are inviting you to play your part in saving this part of England’s special, historic and organic landscape. All we need from you at present is your name and postcode on our petition of support.

‍We need to demonstrate that you care too – please add your name to our list.

Long-term we hope to buy this field, but we first need to convince the landowners to sell it to us! Every signature helps.
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Update June 2024

Thankfully, Cottage Field does sit outside Shropshire’s Local Development Plan, and so we continue to work closely with our local community and council to ensure this remains the case. The Fordhall Community Land Initiative is here for the long-term and we continue to do all that we can to bring this field back into Fordhall’s management and ownership.
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With that in mind, the FCLI Board has also added a further £15,000 to our reserved fighting fund for Cottage Field, adding to those donations already received from all of you. This, we hope, will allow us to move quickly should the option to purchase arise.

We want to thank everyone who has signed our petition of support and all those who have already sent in donations – we have been overwhelmed. These have been ring-fenced to support the campaign to purchase additional land and we will add in any new donations to this ring-fenced pot. The message we have been receiving from the community and from our member surveys has been loud and clear – you want us to do everything within our power to place Cottage Field into community ownership.

Add donate to land purchase button in orange

The petition of support remains open and will be used to demonstrate the wealth of support to councillors, planners and all those of influence. We will use it to show that you care about this field as much as we do, and to demonstrate that keeping prime farmland as farmland is vital to our economy as well as to our environment. We will also use the petition mailing list to keep you informed of all Cottage Field-related developments. Please spread the word and share our petition far and wide, the power of the people is a mighty force!

The loss has already been significant. The damage caused to the rest of Fordhall during the last wet winter, with 30% of our winter grazing lost in the Cottage Field, was heart-breaking to see. In fact, the damage has been so extensive since losing access to Cottage Field, for the first time in 13 years we had to close our trails to the public for four months of the year. This is not something we wish to repeat on a regular basis. Fordhall should always be open to the community. We desperately need Cottage Field back.

Things could start to move quickly or it could take years. We will be seeking advice where we can and as soon as we have a definitive target to raise, we will let you know. In the meantime, please do keep sharing the word, adding signatures to our petition of support and keep your fingers and toes crossed for us.

Our very best wishes and heartfelt thanks to you all,
The Board of Directors of the Fordhall Community Land Initiative and its 8,000 members