After seeing a series about the NT many years ago on TV,I have always thought it is an overmanned, mismanaged organisation. Just like a load of civil servants.
national trust £1 farmer in court
- Thread starter roscoe erf
- Start date
H200GT
Member
- Location
- NORTH WALES
Case thrown out, not guilty
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/end-nightmare-great-orme-farmer-16397914
Glad he won his case as he should never have been bought to court in the first place, but i would think it a hollow victory in some ways given the stress endured. He is no winner in the long run if that makes sense. Got to feel for him and his family
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/end-nightmare-great-orme-farmer-16397914
Glad he won his case as he should never have been bought to court in the first place, but i would think it a hollow victory in some ways given the stress endured. He is no winner in the long run if that makes sense. Got to feel for him and his family
- Location
- Fife
Nice to see the article confirm my suspicions, there is no fencing.
I recall the NT recruiting for a similar job in Snowdonia. There they offered basic accommodation and £11/hr.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ea...wanted-must-enjoy-drizzle-and-loneliness.html
Clearly that was too much and someone in their upper echelons came up with a “creative” solution for this farm.
- Location
- Exeter, Devon
If my experience is anything to go by, he will have spent a fortune on legal fees to defend himself and get little if any of it back, despite the case being dropped.
Goweresque
Member
- Location
- North Wilts
Yes, its the modern way the State gets its way regardless of the law, making the whole legal process a punishment in and of itself. It doesn't really matter if the defendant is found guilty or not, he or she has already been put through hell and they've made their point for everyone else to take note of. Thus the power to destroy someone's life lies entirely with those who choose to bring charges or not, and not with the courts who decide on guilt or innocence, and decide on any punishment for guilt.
kiwi pom
Member
- Location
- canterbury NZ
Its ridiculous isn't it, 5 minutes with a calculator should tell anyone its just not going to work. (actually the very fact NT were offering it should tell you all you need to know) So should we have any sympathy for the people that apply when they cant do basic maths?
Where the hell did they think the money was going to come from? all they saw was the word 'Free' and got carried away.
On the other hand NT (should) know this too, so in my opinion have to take some responsibility for the stock. They took advantage of someone that didn't know any better, just to save themselves the hassle and expense of looking after the land.
Hopefully no one else is stupid enough to fall for their rubbish.
I wont hold my breath though.
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Maybe they had rose tinted specs that overtook their passion to have a farm in their own right. I get that. I'm pretty daft myself running between "free" blocks of grazing up to 25 miles away but as I don't have the £££ to stump up to buy and if I did the job wouldn't stack up with native suckler cows, am I mad not to have a go?
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
To criticise this man for having a go is wrong, farmers everywhere frequently work very long hours for very little and some times less than nothing. They hope they are building a business and nearly all of us have flown by the seat of our pants at times. Some become rich and others fall on the scrapheap.
I feel very sorry for that man and his family, he may have been naive but he gave it a go and sadly lost. The trust and there agents, should never have been so greedy, but the evidence suggests that it is ingrained in that institution.
I feel very sorry for that man and his family, he may have been naive but he gave it a go and sadly lost. The trust and there agents, should never have been so greedy, but the evidence suggests that it is ingrained in that institution.
SilliamWhale
Member
Its great the case was dropped, it seemed over the top for what it was.
It says hes going back to farm the same farm.
It says hes going back to farm the same farm.
don't think he would have much of a choice i'm sure nt will have him signed up for a contractual period which will be an effort to get out of
I have feeling this won't be the last time we hear about his misfortunes
- Location
- Lleyn peninsula
Like i said ive not read it,i walked round their 5 years ago and they were running nice texels on it,and had a field of turnips,you should be able fo sent lambs fat off it too, grass grows most of year their
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
He hasn’t ‘lost’ anything, other than 2 years of his life and his legal fees (not sure if he’ll get all that back as ‘costs’ were awarded
).
He hasn’t lost the farm, his home, and there’s no reason to assume he’s not farming it OK and making a living off it.
Having 3 dead sheep in the ‘habitat’, which were reported before he got to them, isn’t a biggie. Similarly movement licences not being logged by EID Cymru for whatever reason.
Managing the public on this place has been a nightmare that I underestimated too, and has caused me a lot of stress in the first few years (although Dan’s had that on steroids), but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything about the economics of the business.
I spoke to Dan a couple of times, just after he took the farm. He seemed a pretty clued up guy to me.
). He hasn’t lost the farm, his home, and there’s no reason to assume he’s not farming it OK and making a living off it.
Having 3 dead sheep in the ‘habitat’, which were reported before he got to them, isn’t a biggie. Similarly movement licences not being logged by EID Cymru for whatever reason.
Managing the public on this place has been a nightmare that I underestimated too, and has caused me a lot of stress in the first few years (although Dan’s had that on steroids), but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything about the economics of the business.
I spoke to Dan a couple of times, just after he took the farm. He seemed a pretty clued up guy to me.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
People only let land when they have run out of ideas or money. Or both.
Good farms never come up only the shyte
Then someone good comes in, turns it round, and hey presto they wantit back again.
- Location
- Yorkshire
How much has this whole thing cost him. In the picture on the right he sits with his wife but on the left he's alone at a time I would think he could do with the most support or am I just reading to much into her absence in the picture
Someone will now need to stay at home to make sure there isn't a dead sheep to be seen by the public...
- Location
- Fife
Yeah no. Not everyone is imbued with a burning desire to farm at all costs.
Some wish to retire. Some inherit and don't want the work. Some find it more lucrative to let land out and do something else with their time.
I have customers who have contract farmed from the same land for the last 20+ years. I have others who only began farming 5 years ago.
This NT farm sounds just the place for Chris Packham to put his ideology in to practice and make a profit.
With his high profile if he was allowed to open it to the public and charge an entry fee he might make a small profit.
But if no fences his visitors may chose the right to wonder
With his high profile if he was allowed to open it to the public and charge an entry fee he might make a small profit.
But if no fences his visitors may chose the right to wonder
Last edited:
TheTallGuy
Member
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
Beware of creative photography creating false impressions - the before picture was taken on a bright (if breezy) day with no obvious filtering on the camera (probably some post lightening/enhancement though), the after was taken on a dull wet day & looks like a medium density filter (or effect) added to enhance the gloominess! Beyond that, he looks to be of a similar weight in both pictures, has a healthy head of hair that appears to be similar in colour, crop out the lady & dog in the before and there's little real discernable difference other than the lack of smile.
As for the substance of the story, I refrained from commenting earlier because it is a subject I don't have much knowledge or experience of & wouldn't want to pass judgement. What I would say is all credit to the guy for trying to make a go of what looks to me like a very tough proposition. That said, when the proposal was floated by NT my first reaction was "what's the catch?" - they were essentially giving the farm away which suggests that at best it would be "difficult".
SilliamWhale
Member
This NT farm sounds justvthr place for Chris Packham to put his ideology in to practice and make a profit.
With his high profile if he was allowed to open it to the public and charge an entry fee he might make a small profit.
But if no fences his visitors may chose the right to wonder
The whole point of the Great Orme surely is that it being a limestone headland its going to have a few relatively uncommon species that probably benefit from a certain amount of grazing at times but not too much - that's why its an SSSI. This is a niche area to start with!
Doubtless there's a lot of bulls**t involved and dealing with the public could be a total pain in the arse - but the the place is clearly not a farm in the way a farmer sees it!
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
- Tags
- establishment urea