Farming & Environment

32 New Stour & Avon, December 17, 2021 Farming & Environment A Day at the Farm...

with Tiffany Fleming

Tiffany Fleming is a volunteer at High

Mead Farm in Longham, Ferndown.

High Mead Farm is a working farm run to promote the benefits of engaging with animals, soil, and nature. They

‘create purposeful roles for our cofarmers, young people and adults alike, to help bring about a sense of well-being and self-worth that many have never experienced before’. I cannot believe that donations, thanks to some Christmas is almost upon us! extraordinarily kind The slow, almost leisurely, individuals and organisations months of Lockdown have without whom we would be been left in the slipstream of lost. our daily dash since spring. Visits from the University of Time has flown past with a the Third Age, an tempo challenged only by the force of Storm Arwen. November certainly left her mark as she exited, and High Mead, like so many others throughout the UK, felt the impact of her visit. Whilst our team of stoic staff and volunteers battled the bitter winds, to collect donations as part of Wimborne’s Christmas lights switch on (High Mead Farm being one of Mayor Webb’s chosen charities), Arwen was rearranging the farm and, in organisation for the retired or particular, our stables. mature with a passion for Luckily, the ponies, whilst learning, resulted in a very shocked, were unharmed. generous personal donation, While the loss of the stables Asda awarded the farm a was a blow (no pun grant of £1,000 towards the intended), we are fortunate cost of a week of Christmas that November had been a celebrations, the planning of super month in terms of which has been very enthusiastically embraced by the Co-Farmers, and a representative from Farrow & Ball visited to purchase some kindling and left the promise of a pallet full of paint which duly arrived a week later. December is also shaping up to be a marvellous month – a Christmas Fayre hosted by the Ladies’ Section of Ferndown Golf Club looks to have raised more than £3,500! There are still challenges ahead; the threat of Avian flu hangs over the area and means that, sadly, we are unable to welcome visitors beyond the Farm Shop, the animal team continue to treat little Domino, our poorly pony, and we are still extremely cautious about the continued threat of Covid. But on a more positive note

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY: Clockwise from above, joy as the paint arrives from Farrow & Ball, pass the parcel time, the wrecked stables thanks to Storm Arwen, festive products on sale, Wimborne Bid collecting in style and, inset, a visit to Ferndown Golf Club

Pictures: TIFFANY FLEMING

we were also able to welcome our highest ever number of Co-Farmers to the farm during November. Thanks to the amazing team of volunteers and sensational staff at High Mead, 67 CoFarmers were given the chance to grow last month –what a fantastic way to mark the end of the year. It is largely thanks to you, our readers and supporters, and others like you, that High Mead is able to do the wonderful work that it does. Merry Christmas! www.highmeadfarm.org.uk n We are seeking a full-time Head of Horticulture to join the team at High Mead Farm – if you’d like to know more about this very exciting role, please give us a call!

Proposals for Corfe Mullen homes refused

by Nicci Brown

Outline proposals for up to 43 dwellings on land south of Lambs Green Lane, Corfe Mullen, have been refused planning permission by Dorset Council. The application by Dorset Country Homes, to determine only the access to the development which included 15 affordable homes, followed an application made last year for 69 homes with 24 affordable which was withdrawn in November. The new application attracted dozens of objections, including those of Historic England, whose inspector of ancient monuments Sasha Chapman said: “The resubmission has resulted in a reduction of dwellings from 69 to 43, however our concerns remain regarding the proposed housing development within an area of high archaeological potential. “The site here on the edge of the Stour Valley has been recognised as an important archaeological Roman military site since the late 1950s, and it is now known to be a site of considerable international significance. “At the core is a uniquely important and intact legionary campaign fortress, a key base for the Roman Army during their conquest of western Britain in the mid-40s AD.” Corfe Mullen Parish Council said that in addition to it being inappropriate development in the Green Belt, the traffic assessment was carried out during a period of lockdown which did not provide an accurate level of traffic, but there was no objection from the Highway Authority. Grounds for objection from the planning authority include that the site is within the South East Dorset Green Belt, where no new housing is permitted without very special circumstances. They also say the application failed to make provision for a policy complaint level of affordable housing, and was considered likely to have a negative impact on the character of the surrounding area which includes a number of designated and nondesignated heritage assets, including the Roman Camp, Forts and Vexillation Fortress and the Grade II-listed High House. The refusal notice states that in the event of a resubmission or appeal, the failure to supply sufficient detail on archaeological interest, water runoff, biodiversity and trees could be overcome by the submission of further reports, but also highlights insufficient consideration of the impact on public rights of way and a lack of proposals for mitigation for nearby Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

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