A family of tenant farmers in Ryde have backtracked on an agreement of £800,000 to leave Westridge Farm and become freehold farmers after their demands for a further £200,000 were rejected.
The Holliday family now hope that planning permission won’t be granted to build on the land to the east of Ryde, allowing them to stay put for another 2 generations.
The owners of the land, Arnbrow Ltd, have written to the leader of the Isle of Wight Council, Dave Stewart, to make him and the planning committee aware of the current situation following recent statements and media coverage. In the letter, director Robert Ball says he has witnessed ‘certain narratives’ regarding the treatment and prospects of the Holliday family, which he says is not fair nor accurate and has compelled the company to respond.
However, the Holliday family, who currently occupy the land at Westridge Farm as tenants, say the letter, out of context, misrepresents their intentions and position, insinuating they have been unreasonable.
Arnbrow says that mechanisms regarding the development of the site have been fairly followed and the tenants have previously taken a mutually-agreed payment for land off Appley Road and off Hope Road. Agreements were in place for the final section of land – but at the eleventh hour the deal broke down at the tail end of 2019.
The Holliday family had been offered 50 acres of freehold land and a farm building off nearby Bullen Road, together with a cash payment, in a deal worth a staggering £800,000. The deal was accepted in writing and contracts were drawn up, but prior to signing the Hollidays demanded an additional £200,000 of value – taking the total to £1million.
Despite initially agreeing to the deal, the Holliday family say the offer put forward was simply not fair or viable and they were not prepared to give up their dairy farming livelihood and the security for the next 2 generations of their Agricultural Holdings Act (AHA) Tenancy. The freehold farmland offered, allowing them long term farming security, is said to not include any dairy or farm buildings to house cattle. Additionally, a multi-use pathway around the edge of existing field boundaries, would not make it a viable option to continue dairy farming, according to the Hollidays.
They claim one of the main reasons for rejecting the deal is the payment terms set out by the landowners, with a staged payment structure over a 4-year period. Under the deal, the Hollidays would receive no money on surrendering their tenancy but would receive a payment on the date of leaving the farm. They say they would be left with no farm to move to as the stage payment structure would not allow the family to relocate to another farm.
However, under the tenancy, if planning permission is granted to build at Westridge Farm then the Hollidays will lose 5 acres of land every 3 months which will ultimately force them out. The Hollidays have been fighting against the planning application, which if rejected by the Council would allow the farmers to stay on the land under their current tenancy for a further 2 generations.
Robert Ball of Armbrow Ltd has said in his recent letter, revealing details of the previously undisclosed £800,000 deal:
“As landlords to the Holidays for over 30 years we have consistently strived to be fair, considerate and respectful to our tenant. We have a track record of being flexible and generous having agreed and made substantial payments, as well as rental breaks, in return for the development of land.
“We had agreed a significant payment valued at £800,000 for the proposed development land that would facilitate our tenant securing a freehold farm, and therefore their farming future, should they so choose. We were not obliged to do so – we chose to do so in an effort, once again, to be entirely fair and reasonable”.
Island Echo approached the Holliday family last week for a statement in relation to our story. They decided to publically release their statement ahead of the publication of this article.
See how much money is made turning green fields to building land, to be able to give such to remove this family. Then consider the temptation for developers to fund those with the power to make ‘their’ riches come to the fore by the mere stoke of a pen.
Vote this lot OUT next time.
Will you be standing for election so that you can change things?
Depends on what size bung they offer. I have a very large waste fitting in my abode that requires such!
This development is a positive for the island economy, it keeps people employed directly and indirectly. It’s going to helps families buy there own home.
Most people under 30 need all the encouragement they can to buy there own home. All this about green land and brownfields, there’s a housing estate off Malborough Road and there’s a housing estate in Nettlestone, it is a brown field in my eyes. Trees they can’t just pull protected trees down they create features out of them. Get the homes built for families ASAP in fact keep building them till the cost of them half’s
On the surface £800,000 is a largish sum of money, but in the context of a development as large as this which should yield to the developer a potential gross profit of at least £60 million, and probably more because of the economies of scale, then things take on a very different slant.
The tenants would be giving up a way of life and a future for their descendants , and yet another milk producer would be lost. Even if they could relocate the cost of setting up a new dairy farm is colossal and takes a considerable time, £800K would not be any where near enough.
I think that the Echo adjective ” staggering ” with respect to the £800,000 pound package on offer is disingenuous to the Hollidays, and the fact that the payments are staged make it far less attractive than a single payment made immediately upon vacating the land. This sum has to be viewed in the context the potential profits to the developer and represent only 1.33% of the potential gross profit.
I hope they are able to continue to farm this land as long as they have the legal right to do so, or that they are given a much better compensation package.
On another related matter the two houses owned by the developers at Westridge Junction are being allowed to fall into disrepair and are now an eyesore and health hazard, and indeed are nightmare for those living nearby. The neglect of these properties does not give the impression of a socially responsible company. The ” improvements ” to the two properties made as result of local complaints have done little if anything to improve the situation. They are a disgraceful eyesore.
My apologies. The farm land involved in the overall 900+ home development will only provide land for around half of this total.
The profit relating to the area occupied by the farm therefore would yield a potential profit of £30million.
Still not a bad deal.
The island does not need this huge housing development. Build houses and flats for islanders only, not travellers coming here from far away lands then given everything for free. VOTE THIS COUNCIL OUT.
Capitalism at its worst, .
More so called ‘ Affordable ‘ homes… but too rich for someone that works full time on the tills at Tesco !!
Yet the social security kept will be living there soon.
This development is NOT a positive for the island economy Captiva Homes Don’t give a toss about the island or what they do to it as long as they make money there happy and as far as Robert Ball of Armbrow Ltd i would not piss on him if he was on fire
Dot, I assume you own your own home, like many other anti new build experts. Younger generation working class people, need support and guidance on buying there homes. Outdated older properties are always in need of preservation. New builds are modern and do not need maintenance. As for any developer they are business like any other, if they can’t build here they will somewhere else, it would take 1000s of years to concrete the Iw. The land owner has a right to do as he wishes with his land, and offering a substantial compensation to the tenant, he is hardly greedy, regardless of any profits they may make.
I see only negativity towards these people for investing in the Isle of Wight.
On the mainland you wouldn’t get this for sure. Build a bridge to aid there logistics.