Latest News: June 2026
Planning Update: A Positive Step Forward
After a long wait, we have finally received initial feedback from Wiltshire Council regarding the proposed farm access and infrastructure for Pear Tree Community Farm.
We're pleased to share that the planning officer has confirmed that the Community Farm is acceptable in principle. This is an encouraging step forward for a project that aims to bring together sustainable food production, education, wellbeing and community engagement.
As many of you know, our site sits within the Cotswolds National Landscape and Green Belt, close to the Grade II* listed St Mary's Church. These special surroundings bring additional planning considerations and the council has highlighted that the potential impacts on these designated assets are significant. Importantly however, they also recognise the substantial social and community benefits that the farm will provide.
What Has Been Supported?
The council has confirmed a number of positive aspects of the proposal:
- The land will remain in agricultural use, with no change of use required.
- The need for polytunnels, storage facilities, welfare provision, and a packing shed is accepted as supporting the farm operation.
- The development is not considered inappropriate within the Green Belt, provided community activities remain closely linked to the agricultural use.
- Highways officers have not identified any significant highway concerns.
What Are the Key Concerns?
- The most contentious issue is the creation of a new field access and the resulting change to the character of Church Lane. We will mitigate this essential requirement through the planting of native hedgerows, ivy and ferns.
- The proposed building floorspace is considered ambitious and we will need to demonstrate that the recognised standard sizes are necessary to accommodate volunteers and staff during peak harvesting and packing periods. Adequate storage is also essential to keeping the site neat and tidy and minimising visual impact.
- Community events, educational activities and volunteering opportunities have been questioned as not being strictly necessary for agricultural purposes. However, this is a community farm, and our business model as well as the many social, educational and wellbeing benefits it delivers depends on their inclusion.
- A Heritage Statement has been requested to demonstrate that the public benefits outweigh the "less than substantial harm" to the setting of St Mary's Church. A RIBA-chartered conservation architect will provide an independent assessment as part of our application.
We welcome this feedback, which has helped shape what we believe is the best possible design, balancing farm functionality, care for the landscape and consideration for our neighbours.
We are continuing to work closely with specialist consultants, including engineers, landscape architects, ecologists, highways experts and heritage advisers, to ensure our planning application is thorough, evidence-based and capable of withstanding the scrutiny it deserves.
May 2026
As spring unfolds around us, the hedgerows bursting back into life and our gardens are beginning to produce again, it feels especially important to continue building practical, hopeful responses to the challenges ahead. With food prices still rising and forecasts suggesting UK food costs could be around 50% higher by late 2026 compared with the start of the crisis in 2021, the case for resilient, community-owned food production feels stronger than ever.
While we are still awaiting the outcome of our pre-application planning discussions, work on the project continues at pace behind the scenes. We are busy working through levels, drainage and building designs with engineers and consultants as we prepare our full application. We are currently looking for some pro-bono Quantity Surveying support, so if anyone in our wider community may be able to help, we would love to hear from you. We hope soon to be able to share more detailed designs and visuals.
It was also great to speak at the Limpley Stoke,Westwood and Freshford Annual Parish Meetings, we received some really positive feedback and excellent questions.
As we wait for planning, we are also beginning preparations for our fundraising campaign and are delighted that Ukrainian filmmaker Natalia Negreba, together with brilliant young film makers Charlie Thomas and Drummond Lascelles from Freshford and Limpley Stoke are helping us create a short film about the project and its vision.
April 2026
We are delighted to share that we’ve been awarded a £4,000 grant from FLiSCA, our local community association that runs the Galleries village shop. This generous support will help cover essential planning costs and move us closer to making the farm a reality. A huge thank you to FLiSCA for backing this project.
We are thrilled to unveil our new logo which you can see at the top of our newsletter and throughout the website a big step forward in shaping the identity of our community farm. We hope you like it. You can now follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/peartreecommunityfarm where you can catch up on more news and events.
Our pre-application submission to check whether our proposed farm layout will be acceptable to Wiltshire Planning Control has been delayed by over a month. While this has been frustrating, we’re making the most of the time by strengthening our full planning application and preparing our fundraising campaign. As soon as we receive a positive planning decision, we’ll be ready to launch our fundraising efforts so watch this space.
During May we’ll be sharing more about the project at Limpley Stoke’s Annual Parish Meeting at 7:00pm, 7th May, Freshford’s Annual Parish Meeting at 7:15pm, 18th May and Westwood's Annual Parish Meeting at 7pm on 12th May.
We have had great support and backing of both local MPs across constituencies including Brian Matthew who says:
“I’m pleased to support the new Pear Tree Community Farm. This is an exciting initiative that seeks to bring generations together to grow fresh, sustainable food while sharing knowledge that strengthens community bonds. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this farm will have for years to come.”
This cross-community support reflects the shared belief in what this farm can become, a place for connection, learning, and sustainable food growing.
March 2026
After several months of hard grafting we have now put together a detailed business plan and financial model, including a proposed layout for the farm and included insights from our recent community survey. We hope you will take the time to take a look and you can find these at the bottom of our website. This is very much a living document, and we warmly welcome your feedback as we continue refining it and learning along the way.
March has been a busy month for events and we have hosted several farm update meetings at The Hop Pole Inn, the Rose and Crown in Hinton Charterhouse and the Ecology and Wild Flower Café in Westwood. Thank you to everyone who came along, shared ideas, and supported the project so far, it’s been invaluable and we appreciate you taking the time to come along.
Planning Progress
Our pre-application has been submitted, and at the time of writing we’re awaiting feedback. This is an important step towards making the farm a reality.
Charity Status Achieved
We’re pleased to share that we’ve been awarded exempt charity status. This means we can now claim Gift Aid on donations and benefit from certain tax exemptions, an important boost for our fundraising efforts.
Looking Ahead
Here’s what the coming months look like:
- Mid-April – Submit full planning application
- Mid-July – Anticipated planning decision
- August – Launch fundraising campaign
- November – Purchase the land
- December – Hire a head grower
- March 2027 – Sow our first seeds
Get Involved
This farm is being built for the community and by the community. We’d love you to be part of it. Please sign up to stay informed and consider getting involved.
Right now, we’re especially looking for people to help with our fundraising campaign, including support with creating a video. If you have skills, ideas, or time to offer, we’d be thrilled to hear from you.
February 2026
Following feedback from the community survey, and a commitment to choosing a name that feels inclusive of both Freshford, Limpley Stoke and our supporters from neighbouring villages, we’ve decided to change the name of the farm to Pear Tree Community Farm Ltd.
Our recent survey generated over 100 thoughtful name suggestions and while there was no strong favourite, one name that clearly stood out for the farm team was "Pear Tree Community Farm".
The name is rooted in place and history as St Mary’s Church, which neighbours the proposed farm site, has historically been known as the Pear Tree Church. Back in 1001AD, the Abbess of Shaftesbury marked the boundary of her land at Limpley Stoke with seven pear trees and built a chapel there. Pear trees were commonly used as boundary markers in Anglo-Saxon times, and the field itself sits on the county boundary between Wiltshire and Bath & North East Somerset.
Choosing the name Pear Tree Community Farm feels like a way of honouring that history while also looking forward to the lands proposed new purpose as a community farm. It speaks to our intention to work in harmony with nature, using agroecological methods, and serves as a gentle reminder of our purpose to grow fruit and vegetables, together, for the community.
We’ve now submitted our pre-planning application, alongside an independent traffic survey, which shows there is likely to be little impact. You can find full details of the traffic survey, as well as how the farm will operate and benefit the community, in our business plan on our website.
If you’re interested in the wider context, the Financial Times recently published an affirming article highlighting that community businesses have increased by 59% over the last decade and enjoy long-term survival rates of 94%. It’s heartening to see the strength of this movement reflected nationally.
We’re also very keen to keep conversations going locally so if you’d like to meet us, ask questions, or simply hear more, see our events page for upcoming talks.
January 2026
We have made some excellent progress towards getting the community farm up and running in 2025 and this momentum continues into the new year with the results of our community survey.
The results showed overwhelming local support for the project:
- 183 households expressed support for the community farm, representing approximately 458 residents (based on an average household size of 2.5).
- 42 households would like to subscribe to a full year of veg boxes.
- A further 73 residents are interested in veg on a more occasional basis.
- 53 households would like the flexibility to buy what they want, when they want it, from The Galleries.
We were especially encouraged by the strong enthusiasm for volunteering opportunities, hands-on and educational workshops, and seasonal community feasts, all central to our vision of a vibrant, inclusive farm.
Behind the scenes, planning is well underway. December saw the completion of a highways assessment, including traffic counts, along with a topographical survey of the field. The next step will be designing a field entrance that meets highways requirements. This will then guide the wider farm layout, which we look forward to sharing with the community for consultation.
Our goal is to create a farm design that works for our direct neighbours, the wider community, Wiltshire Planning, and the practical needs of the farm itself and we’re feeling hopeful and positive that this can be achieved.
December 2025
As winter settles over the Limpley Stoke and Freshford valley, we’d like to update you on our recent news.
Over the month of November we ran a community survey, gathering your thoughts, ideas, and real data that will feed into the farm business plan. More than 500 surveys have made their way out across our community — via Freshford School, the pre-school, our wonderful local postmen, and The Galleries shop — reaching all homes across Limpley Stoke and Freshford. We’re now busy gathering and analysing all the survey responses and will be sharing the results with you in the new year. A huge thank-you to everyone who took the time to contribute.
We also hosted two winter events: an evening at the Hop Pole Inn and an Afternoon Tea in Freshford Memorial Hall. These gatherings gave neighbours, supporters, and local residents a chance to hear more about the project, share ideas, and even contribute ideas for a new name for the farm. It was lovely to see so many of you there showing support for this community project.
Behind the scenes the project is steaming ahead, we have started the planning process, which is particularly extensive due to the need for a new field access on Church Lane.
Highways have installed a traffic counter and topographical surveys are being done in the next few weeks. With this information detailed assessments and visualisations will be drawn-up and will incorporate the concerns regarding traffic and the visual impact of the farm, particularly for the direct neighbours and St Mary's Church. We look forward to sharing these plans with you as they develop.
And finally some exciting news: we’ve received our very first grant — £5,000 from the Wiltshire Area Board! This generous support will help towards our planning costs, a real boost to our progress.