Rebank joins Bragg in protest over National Trust land buy

BROADCASTER and author Lord Melvyn Bragg and celebrity farmer James Rebank are at the forefront of an outcry over the acquisition of a chunk of land in the Lake District by the National Trust for nearly twice the price it may have fetched at auction.

Protestors claim the countryside organisation is distorting the market and preventing the local population buying into farming and wasting their own members’ money.

The trust offered £950,000 for the land at Thorneythwaite Farm in Borrowdale – £250,000 above the guide price.

But it has made no offer for the farm and buildings, valued at about £800,000, which stand on the land.

In a letter to the Times, Bragg said: “The National Trust…. behaved very badly. It put in a bid which was way above that which was reasonable for the land, thus making it impossible for local farmers to get a look in.

“It was a nasty piece of work. Had a billionaire bullied his way into this disgraceful purchase there would have been a deserved outcry.”

The row is embarrassing to the National Trust as its main critics are from the Herdwick sheep farmers.

First president of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association was children’s author Beatrix Potter, whose 150th birthday celebrations this year have been trumpeted by the National Trust, which has organised dozens of events in her memory.

When Potter died in 1943, she bequeathed 15 farms and more than 4,000 acres to the National Trust, with the aim of protecting and conserving the unique Lake District countryside.

As part of the bequest, she insisted that her beloved Herdwick sheep, renowned for their thick fleeces and ability to be left out on the fells without fencing, be kept on the farms in perpetuity.

Celebrity farmer James Rebank, who has topped bookseller lists across the world with his autobiography The Shepherd’s Life: A Tale of the Lake District, has led the protest by local farmers.

The Oxford University educated Matterdale farmer also tweets under @HardyShepherd and has told his 83,000 followers that the National Trust is to blame for breaking the link between the landscape, wildlife and humans, essential for a traditional way of life.

“You can’t maintain a system without a farm and shepherd and they need a home. The farmstead isn’t just a ‘building’,” he tweeted.

“The@nationaltrust appear to now think the Lake District landscape can and should be bought off the farmsteads,” he added. “That isn’t conservation. The empty-headed @nationaltrust response make clear how badly thought through this is. It flies in the face of their historic purpose.”

The original criticism of the National Trust apparently came from the Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association.

Rebanks’ tweet copied a statement from the association which said: “Thornthwaite Farm, Borrowdale, is no more thanks to the National Trust coming straight in with a bid of £950,000 for the fell land at a recent auction.

“This blocked the local farmers from any chance of buying the farm as a whole. The farm house was subsequently sold separately.

“There are 413 Herdwicks now left on the fell without shelter. Another farm lost. Hopes that the farm could be taken on by a new young fell farmer have been dashed.”

A spokesman for the National Trust said the farm was offered for sale in two lots at the auction at Ladore Hotel in Keswick two weeks ago.

Lot one was the farm buildings with a small amount of land and lot two was 303 acres with an asking price of £750,000.

The National Trust already owned the neighbouring land and was desperate to buy Thorneythwaite for its internationally significant wood pastures and unique wild-life and veteran trees.

It did not want the farm as it was not an appropriate way to spend members’ money, but paid £950,000 to secure the land. There were no other bidders.

“The National Trust has acquired approximately 303 acres of land at Thorneythwaite Farm, following a successful bid at auction on Tuesday August 9. This beautiful landscape will now be looked after for everyone.

“We are passionate about conserving the beauty and uniqueness of the Lake District. We bid for this land because it offers such amazing places for wildlife, including woodland featuring veteran trees, riverside fields, open craggy fell and wood pasture.

“It’s home to a wealth of important wildlife including redstarts and pied flycatchers.

“The land was split into two plots by the auctioneers – the farm and a farm house. The trust used its charitable funds to bid for the farm land.

“We believe we can look after this land in a way which benefits nature, our visitors and the local community.”

However, Amanda Carson, of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association, responded: “I think the thing that distresses us all is that the National Trust doesn’t get it.

“We would love to work with them for the best interests of the sheep, the farming community, the environment, and the wildlife.

“For some reason sheep and shepherds are seen as the enemy and not consulted. And yet it is the sheep and the shepherds that have created the landscape of the Lake District that is treasured so much.”