National Trust blamed as family-run farm nursery forced to close

The Daily Telegraph reports: A farm nursery has been forced to close following a dispute with the National Trust.

Jonathan Garstin, 77, and his wife Vanessa, 76 – the two managers – claim Little Heath Farm Nursery in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, was put out of business after the National Trust proposed re-negotiating historic rights of access.

For hundreds of years the farm held access rights over a small strip of land along Little Heath Lane which the National Trust took ownership of following its creation in 1895.

These informal rights allowed staff and the public to enjoy access to the tearoom, shops and garden nursery sited in the original farm buildings, now run by Mr and Mrs Garstin.

But in early 2022, the National Trust proposed a formal arrangement at the cost of £335,000, to be charged if buildings on the site were redeveloped for residential use. No planning consent for future development was in place at the time of the agreement.

However, Mr and Mrs Garstin, who run the farm on behalf of its retired owners, say the fee forced the closure of the business when they tried to restore five 19th century cottages on the site for rental.

They say this led their lender to deduct the £335,000 from the farm’s value and meant the property was no longer valuable enough to give the bank confidence the loan could be repaid.

The couple’s new lenders then foreclosed on the loan, evicting Mr and Mrs Garstin and forcing the business to shut.

In a statement to customers posted on Little Heath Farm Nursery’s website last week, Mr and Mrs Garstin said: “We are greatly distressed to say that Little Heath Farm Nursery and Tearoom have been forced to close down from 1st April.

“This is due to the action of The National Trust who demanded a fee of £335,000 be part of an access agreement to pass over the strip of land they own alongside Little Heath Lane, despite Little Heath Farm having long-term rights passing over that land for more than 420 years.

“The fee is only payable if we convert the old shops and store to residential, but it heavily reduced the farm value. Our bankers for the existing cottage renovation work are not at fault but now they have no option but to foreclose to sell. They have been supportive and helpful over the past 14 months to give time to find a solution. Each one we found was killed by that National Trust action.”

The National Trust denied this, adding that it is bound by charity law to maximise its assets. A spokesman told The Telegraph it was “surprised to hear of the sudden closure”.

A petition to save the nursery and cafe from closure has gathered more than 1,100 signatures and the couple have the support of Victoria Collins, the Liberal Democrat MP for Berkhamsted.

Ms Collins said: “Local people have written to me heartbroken about the news that Little Heath Farm may be forced to close its doors and the business is devastated.

“Our businesses are finding it increasingly tough to break even from the recent ‘jobs tax’ to business rates, and everyday costs continue to rise. As the backbone of our community, we need to do everything in our power to protect them. That is why I’m demanding clear answers about what has happened with Little Heath Farm and the concrete steps that can be taken to find a solution.”

The Garstins say there is now the prospect of developers buying the site at auction and levelling the old farm buildings, which date to 1830.

Mr Garstin pointed to the irony of the dispute over access to Little Heath Farm, since it was a campaign against the enclosure of common land at nearby Berkhamsted Common which helped lead to the founding of the National Trust.

He told The Telegraph: “I have a passionate interest in historic buildings and always thought the National Trust was a benign organisation caring for our heritage. I was somewhat shocked at the way they have behaved.

“The National Trust had no lawful reason not to grant a simple unconditional easement for the existing uses of the property. But they refused that, instead focussing on the potential of £335,000 for a later possible conversion that may not happen.”

The National Trust said it was bound by law to achieve the best value on property transactions but that it had deferred payment of the access fee until any future development.

It denied it was to blame for the foreclosure of the Garstins’ loan by their lender.

A spokesman said: “Following independent valuation and legal advice that fee was agreed and signed up to by all parties in the summer of 2024. In the nine months since agreements were signed last year, the National Trust has never been made aware that the owners or their mortgage lender had any concerns about the access arrangement.

“Access fees would only apply if the site was sold with planning permission, or when the five houses are occupied. So far as the Trust is aware, planning permission has not been granted. As such we were very surprised to hear of the sudden closure of Little Heath Farm Nursery and Tearoom.”

The National Trust has suffered from a series of recent controversies, with criticism of its emphasis on its properties’ historical links with the slave trade and a switch to a plant-based menu at its cafes.

Memberships of the conservation charity fell by 89,000 to 2.62 million in 2023/24, with more visitors choosing to pay on the day as the cost-of-living crisis took its toll.