Community farm in Fisherwick making progress

This is remarkably similar to the situation that kicked off the amazing Elford Walled Gardens restoration…

You may recall the efforts that went into persuading Birmingham City Council to grant a lease to a community group so they could restore and make sustainable use of the historic gardens at Elford.

Early days at Elford Hall Gardens with an enthusiastic community group

BCC hold, in trust, a very significant estate around parts of Lichfield and Tamworth. The situation regarding Woodhouse Farm is extraordinarily similar to that which I found at Elford.

It’s an unbelievable four and a half years ago since I started in earnest as a newly elected County Councillor to assist the group at Elford with their Birmingham issue. The Elford Hall Estate had fallen into serious disrepair under their trusteeship and there appeared to me to be a viable way forward in reversing that decline and making the Gardens sustainable as a community asset.

Community support at Woodhouse Farm could lead to something great

And it was some time before the City agreed with that point of view and allowed the community group in Elford to take on the project and grant a lease. The latter only happened in the last few months. The group had barely been able to get Birmingham to speak to them for the first eighteen months.

That said,  Birmingham City Council have more recently been exceptionally enthusiastic and helpful to the Elford group including granting substantial funding towards the restoration work. So a huge turnaround!

Woodhouse Community Farm, near to Fisherwick Lakes, is a longstanding family home which is also held in Trust by Birmingham along the same lines as Elford was.

About eighteen months ago the death of the principle tenant resulted in the City Council serving an eviction notice on the remaining family members. Just like the Elford Hall estate, Birmingham were keen to sell off the property to put cash into the Trust and were less than willing to speak about it.

A lovely setting which could be educational and recreational for everyone

But the Stone family at Woodhouse Farm fought back and over the last year or so have received massive support from local people in their efforts to encourage the City to take a more pragmatic stance.

To be honest, whilst lending moral support to the efforts at Woodhouse  Farm, I’ve been conscious not to jeopardise the progress at Elford. But that progress is now irreversible and solid so I’m very happy and willing to throw any influence I have behind the similar community efforts at Fisherwick.

I’ll be writing to Birmingham and assisting the group in a more proactive way to see if we can together replicate the sensational and motivational outcomes enjoyed at Elford.

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