TARA’S STORY
Hafod Farm
I have been helping my partner at Hafod Farm for the last few years stabling horses. He had been leasing the stables/farm buildings and the nearby fields for approx 30 years. His father took on the original lease from the National Trust but became ill a few years ago. It was at this point, when he was suffering from mental health problems, that the National Trust approached him and offered to sell him the farm house at a reduced rate. They did so on the condition that he switched from a sitting tenant agreement to short term lease as regards the rest of the farm.
He was advised not to sign anything at the time, but he was very ill and eventually succumbed to pressure from the National Trust. He progressively became too ill to manage the farm; it was at this point that my partner took over.
He had been running a successful business for approx 8 years. Some of the local children used the stables for their horses and during the summer the place was full of them! They loved the farm and very much made it a hub for the community.
13 months ago, the National Trust came to us and told us they were not renewing his lease. They told us that they had plans to turn the farm buildings and stables into barn conversions/residential use and they wanted to sell the land with full planning on it to be able to get the highest amount of money.
We were told to remove all the horses from the farm by the end of September ’06. Local children along with adults who stabled their horses there had no choice but to either sell them or find alternative stabling for them.
We were absolutely devastated, as were the local people who used the facilities. We fought as hard as we could against what they were doing to us. I contacted the council on a several occasions to tell the planning dept what they were doing. They were making the buildings empty, but each time I was told it would be ‘put on file’.
The National Trust were very underhand in the way in which they took my partner’s business from under him and have treated him and his family appallingly. They took advantage of a seriously ill old man in order to put their plan into action. It was a thriving family business that they destroyed, for no valid reason as I could see at the time. I will be looking into it to see if the leases are legally binding, as far as I’m aware, no documents are supposed to be signed by any persons suffering from any mental problems. If this is right then the National Trust have been very underhand and have taken advantage of people that are not in the know of things.
As time went on, we became aware of the National Trust’s plans for the ‘new village’ in Rhostyllen. It was at this point that things finally started falling into place. The National Trust didn’t actually own all of the land they wanted to build on. A piece of it was owned by a local farmer who has now retired. This farmer agreed to sell his land to the Trust for a substantial amount of money (so much lump sum and the rest to be paid subject to building). When the new tenant took over from the retired farmer he still needed additional land to use. The National Trust were taking some of his land off him to use for the development. That is why the National Trust decided not to renew my partner’s lease and hand our land over to the new tenant farmer.
They also thought they would pocket a bit of extra money by turning the farm buildings into barn conversions. Not many people are aware that Hafod farm is also National Trust property.
My partner has never really recovered from losing our business. It has been very traumatic for all of us, but has left him completely ruined. I don’t even know if he will be able to find another job with an employer at his age. The National Trust completely destroyed a local business to make way for this ‘new urban village’. How can they say they are guardians of our heritage when they treat local people this way? I am very angry about the way in which the National Trust has behaved and am 100% against this development going ahead. There is probably nothing we can do about our farm now, but we can help to stop them destroying another part of Rhostyllen’s heritage. We can oppose this ‘new’ village and I will fight this and any other proposed development that they produce in this area. I think it is wrong for them to take our countryside to build on and that includes demolishing small farms to make way for new build.
Please join us in our fight against the National Trust – they are supposed to protect your heritage – aren’t they?
Click here to sign our petition. Thank you for your support.
Click here to send in an objection.