My grandad came to this farm in 1954 and then my late father John took over in 1971.  My Dad. who died in 2015, was very well known in the Malton area; a former president of the town’s rugby club, National Farmers’ Union local branch chairman and for establishing and running a museum of bygone farming equipment.

He was a great educator, he loved nothing more than showing people some old bit of farming machinery and because we are so close to the actual town – only a mile or two – he was always welcoming and friendly.

He’d spend hours talking to people about farming; helping them understand the link between local farms and the food on their plate.
I took over the tenancy in 2014 and my dad felt he could rest easy – that we had a formal Agricultural Holdings Act (AHA) tenancy agreement in place that allowed for the next generation after me to take over. Now it just feels like all the work we’ve put into improving the land and the habitat for wildlife counts for nothing.  It breaks my heart to think what he would think of this application – and the very real possibility that there won’t be a farm left for his grandchildren.

There has been no consultation with us about this application on our farmland. We have simply been told what the landlord and developer want to happen.

We are Agricultural Holdings Act tenants of the Fitzwilliam Trust Corporation.  Historically we have always had a good relationship with our landlord.

The Fitzwilliam Malton Estate has been largely credited with reinvigorating the nearby market town of Malton as the food capital of Yorkshire, bursting at the scenes with artisan food and drink businesses.  However, there’s a huge irony that here we are producing good quality local food; everything that Malton is supposed to stand for.  What a terrible waste to take such good quality farmland out of production. It’s producing good quality British food and providing habitat for everything from barn owls to deers, hares, skylarks – you name it.  Surely there are other more suitable, low grade, brownfield sites or roofs that would be much more suitable?

For over 2 years we have been aware that developers Harmony Energy have been preparing their planning application to Ryedale District Council. The company’s literature says “renewable energy is critical to ensure the future security of the UK’s energy supply, whilst helping to meet global targets to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change”.

Astonishingly, there is no mention that the development is to be built predominantly on top-grade agricultural land which will be taken out of the food supply chain.  We are not against solar power full stop, but the location, siting and scale need robust scrutiny and must avoid taking good quality farmland out of production bearing in mind the importance of homegrown nutritious food.  What we are against is taking top quality land – which my family has worked so hard to improve over the three generations – out of food production. My dad had a saying about them not making any more farmland; meaning the country has to fiercely guard what it has left.

For 2 years we have lived on a knife edge wondering whether, as a result of Harmony Energy’s threat to develop a solar park on our land, we will have a viable farm, a secure future and a family home. The uncertainty of “if and when” a planning application is to be submitted, and repeatedly being told the application is “imminent”, has caused us great personal stress and made it almost impossible to plan for the future of our business.

We continue to wait…

Updated: Harmony Energy submitted their application on 3rd January 2023

If you agree that Eden Farm is not the right location we would be very grateful if you could help us: