Putting the farm back into Hall Farm.

Before you read this Blog Post, if you can spare 25 minutes from your busy life, can I suggest you listen to this programme, broadcast today, 18th February 2024, from the Radio 4 series “On your farm”. Link here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001wgx8 It’s not essential but I think it might help 😉

Some caveats to start with: Like all the Blog Posts on green4grow this is a personal view. It does not necessarily represent the views of others in the SOLVE Hall Farm group and my qualifications for writing this are admittedly scant (my experience of growing food for example is limited to some fruit and veg in my garden). I say all this “up front” because some of our recent blog posts have had the credentials of the author(s) questioned on social media.

Now for some further background "context". At our very first public meeting we, the "seed group" if you like of the SOLVE Hall Farm movement, got our heads together and after a few weeks working in smaller groups came up with this document: An alternative vision for Hall Farm. We took a version of this document to the University of Reading and presented it to them. It was a great photo opportunity for the University, for us, and for several local politicians (see below) But did it make a difference?

Yesterday, at Spencers Wood Village Hall we had another of our SOLVE Hall Farm public meetings. Among the many interesting people I spoke with was David Cornish. His role at Wokingham Borough Council is (among other things) Chair of the Planning Committee. He asked me a very challenging question: “If you cannot stop the houses at Hall Farm, what would you consider settling for?” I thought about it it for a moment, then suggested a geothermal energy plant to service the wider local community. (This is something I am aware that the University of Reading are actively involved in developing at their Whiteknights campus).

As someone who cares about our environment, who inherited an oil-fired boiler, and who lives in an old house unsuitable for an air sourced heat pump, I would be very interested in “greener” alternatives for my my heating. Or how about a new sewage plant for the wider Arborfield and Shinfield community? Elsewhere I have written about the local problems of sewage being dumped by Thames Water into Barkham Brook.

I, and many of my neighbours, are “off grid” when it comes to mains gas and sewage. If we could help contribute to cleaner and greener living I, for one, would be a happier person. Then this morning it dovetailed neatly with a programme, linked to above, about regenerative farming. It fitted with other conversations I had yesterday, for example about how farming does not pay the bills anymore. About how so many of the “green fields” we want to “save” are not “productive” any more.

Much use of inverted commas, but some of these terms are widely used but possibly needing some clarification when used in this context. For example, Environmental Land Management Schemes or ELMS allow farmers to return some of their land to “nature” and get paid for it. Is that productive use of our green fields?

Back to the Apricot Centre and the ground-breaking work being undertaken there by a horticulturalist and a psychotherapist, working with trauma victims:

"THE APRICOT CENTRE IS A SUSTAINABLE DIVERSE FARM AND WELLBEING SERVICE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

We recognise that there is a fundamental link between the wellbeing of the soil, food and habitat, and the mental and physical health of the people in and around the farm, making for a wonderful environment for a warm and effective mental health/wellbeing service for children and families.

The Apricot centre is a CIC (not for Profit) founded in 2006 and aims to be financially self-sufficient".

Going back to my qualifications for writing this Blog, I should add that my degree is a B.A. (Hons) in Fine Art. My talent (if I have one) is in using my imagination to turn dreams into reality. My greatest fear is that the countryside I love and hold dear will be turned into a nightmare of construction work, increased traffic, pollution and heightened flood risk!

But Hall Farm could grow so much more than developer profits, or even the oft vaunted “homes for our grandchildren”. But there it is, the elephant in the room. If not building houses at Hall Farm (which to an extent, we can all agree we need?) then building houses where?

Yesterday we had two alternatives to building houses at Hall Farm on our displays; Ashridge and Twyford.  Each has pros and cons, but anyone who lives near one of these potential housing sites will probably be horrified, no matter what the possible advantages might be. (Such as being next to a main road at Ashridge or a main line railway station at Twyford). My answer is therefore to agree with the latest statement from Michael Gove and suggest we build on Brownfield sites.

Yes, I can hear the “noises off” already, we don’t have enough brownfield sites in Wokingham, but what about our  Councils “Duty to co-operate”? Our town centres are rapidly becoming a wasteland of empty retail units, with the advent of internet shopping, out of town retail parks, not to mention sky high parking charges!

Then there are all the other empty buildings such ex commercial premises "post covid" and the revolution offered by "working from home" to at least some people. Just how many office buildings with prime views are there currently empty at Thames Valley Park.? Do we really have to build on any of our precious green fields? At this time of increased "food insecurity" wouldn't we all benefit from locally grown organic food that has not been imported from abroad?

We have migrant refugees currently accommodated at what was Sindlesham Mill? (Now Moat House Hotel) They are not allowed to be “employed” but might they be given some voluntary opportunities that will assist with them getting over whatever trauma they experienced prior to coming here? Funnily enough, there is even a physical link, shown in the top right corner of the Hall Farm site map, that runs past this hotel and connects the Hall Farm site to the Winnersh Relief Road. Or how about getting some of the kids with Anti Social Behaviour Orders working with animals and plants? Evidence suggests this kind of work has very positive outcomes.

I am in danger of serious digression here, so back to my (intended) theme for this Blog. A more sustainable way of growing food based on agroforestry, biodynamics and permaculture. Do this at Hall Farm as a Social Enterprise Company with support from the Education department of the University of Reading. Never mind the income from ecologically harmonious orchards, meadows and polytunnels feeding local residents through a market garden. What about the income from well-being and training? (The Apricot Centre quotes £16K/ Acre from well-being alone). Then there is cutting down “food miles” and sequestering carbon.

Lastly, but by no means least: What price do we put on building a real community? A mere 50 acres would be enough to achieve all of the above if the Apricot Centre is anything to go by. We don’t just need more housing; we need better communities.

I might even be persuaded that a few houses are an acceptable price to pay for all this ;-)