West Town Farm
Community ownership
Engagement
Community shares
We are extremely excited and proud to share the news that the beautiful West Town Farm, based in Devon, is being donated to the Fordhall Community Land Initiative in 2027, thanks to the incredibly generous Andy Bragg.
"We are committed to supporting Andy in his vision for West Town Farm; ensuring its organic future is secure, for the benefit of tenant farmers through long-term tenancies, and through the ongoing public access and activities onsite that maintain community engagement. This will be an exciting new journey for Fordhall too, with lots to learn along the way. We look forward to sharing that journey with our members, with Andy, the Devon community, and his dedicated and passionate team at West Town Farm." Charlotte Hollins, FCLI Manager
Background
West Town Farm is an organic, pasture-based, high-welfare livestock farm situated just outside the village of Ide, in Devon. The farm has been organic since 1992 and farmed by the Bragg family since 1949.
Andy Bragg is the third generation of his family to farm at West Town, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, and it was under his guardianship that the farm became organic.
The farm was owned by the Church Commissioners, part of the Church of England, until Andy bought it in April 2022. The farm has 170 acres. Originally a dairy farm, producing milk, the farm is now made up of a herd of Hereford-Cross beef cattle and a flock of sheep, who graze on the organic grass, hay and silage all year long.
Andy is now semi-retired, but is still actively involved in the running of the farm. The new tenant farmer is his well-established Farm Manager, Kate Sharp.
The farm is very much part of the local community, with regular open days, barn dances, school visits and weddings. It is also home to Organic Arts, a small charity running a community garden group and arts events.
Andy is and always has been passionate about West Town Farm, organic farming and the farm’s organic future. He doesn’t have children of his own, and has been thinking about the farm’s future for some time. After long and careful thought, including many discussions with family, Andy has decided to gift the 170+ acres of the main West Town Farm site to Fordhall Community Land Initiative (FCLI - charitable Community Benefit Society) in April 2027.
What does this mean for Fordhall Community Land Initiative?
After careful consideration and consultation with members, the Board of Fordhall Community Land Initiative (FCLI) have confirmed acceptance in principle of this generous gift. The FCLI will protect and honour Andy’s legacy, West Town Farms unique mission and values, nurture the land, and keep it as a working organic farm linked to the community for generations to come.
"We as a Board are so excited to be honoured with the custodianship of West Town Farm; the similarity of it with Fordhall Farm is amazing. 'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts' and through this partnership we will be stronger together. Andy is a wonderful man who clearly cares passionately about protecting West Town Farm and its place in the community. He has recognised the necessity of placing it in our hands, and thus community ownership, for its long-term sustainable future as a working organic farm with community benefit." Jack Tavernor, FCLI Chairperson.
The addition of West Town Farm to the ‘Fordhall fold’ honours the work of our inspiration and late founder, Arthur Hollins. A true organic pioneer who dedicated his life to research on the relationship between farming and nature, along with his passion to integrate people within this.
“Man must not try and control nature, that only leads to failure, he must work alongside it and nurture it” - Arthur Hollins
The team at West Town Farm
Andy: Owns and cares for the farm. Although semi-retired, he is always on hand to support the team whenever needed.
Kate: Tenant farmer, cares for the land and the livestock.
Grace: Manages the venue, shop and marketing.
Pictured left to right: Grace, Kate, Andy.
The local community will always be at the heart of West Town Farm and overtime we will bring in local governance structures to support this approach.
How we align
The Future
The driving force for the future of West Town Farm will be the core existing team married with the needs of the local community.
Tenant Farmer Kate Sharp, husband Simon and young son Arthur will manage the farm business for as long as they so wish and will be offered a long-term Farm Business Tenancy to support this (we have high hopes for succession for Arthur, FCLI are all about long term farm tenancies!).
The ever dynamic Grace Barrington and her small dedicated team will continue to lead and develop the community engagement activities, accomodation and event spaces onsite, whilst the onsite charity Organic Arts, will continue with their diverse and valuable community offer.
The local community will always be at the heart of West Town Farm. Whether it is hosting school visits, art groups, family celebrations or barn dances. FCLI will offer support and advice where needed, maintain an overview on legislative requirements and monitor and assist the management team with the success of the farm in terms of finances, community impact and environmental improvements.
Following the transfer in 2027, FCLI will invest in West Town Farm to support it on its journey - enabling the farm to remain well maintained in a way that meets the changing needs of the community including those both on and surrounding the farm. It is likely we will run a share issue in Devon after the transfer to specifically raise funds that support this, but that does not stop anyone buying shares now and still being part of the journey. All funds raised will go towards this transition.
Andy of course will still be around and involved too – he can just do more of the fun stuff and leave the more serious side to management and the FCLI board!
To find out more about the values and approach of the Fordhall Community Land Initiative or to understand better how we work as an organisation follow the links below:
How Fordhall became community owned
"They're in Shropshire, and we're in Devon - that's 200 miles away, but actually it would be like two Oak trees growing up together; very similar, far apart, but growing together." Andy Bragg
More Farms?
The Board of the Fordhall Community Land Initiative (FCLI) and our members have been discussing the concept of 'More Farms' more broadly. We consulted with our members and asked:
Do you think we should use the knowledge and skills we have gained over the last twenty years to help more farms move into community ownership?
80% of our members said - Yes, definitely, and 19% said Maybe.
As a result of this, the FCLI will continue to look into ways it can encourage more land and farms into the ownership of their local and wider communities. Helping to further our objectives of safeguarding organic livelihoods on the land and connecting our communities.
We look forward to sharing the journey with you.
We are currently seeking funds to support a larger feasibility study into what this support will look like and what FCLI's place is within a wider movement.
Get involved
To keep up to date and support the journey of West Town Farm coming into community-ownership, you can either:
- Subscribe to our Grazer Magazine
- FCLI's community newsletter is available for £28 per year - Buy a share
- Whilst West Town Farm is not yet in our Fordhall family, shares in FCLI are available now to help us on this journey. If you hold shares in the FCLI you will be fully involved in the journey of Fordhall farm as well as West Town Farm. You'll be a custodian of both farms for as long as you hold your share. - Donate
- Sign up to email updates at the bottom of the page.