Ecological Land Co-operative – Shaun Chamberlin

In 2012 news about the co-operative’s land, bought with ‘community shares’, was published on this site.  We read that the application for planning permission – made in December 2011 – was recommended for approval by Mid Devon District Council’s planning department but refused by District Councillors in June 2012. Shaun continues:

“The Inspector deciding our appeals against the councillors’ decision did not agree with them that there was no ‘essential need’ to live on the land. The Council’s position at the inquiry was that we were taking a “hair shirt” approach to the management of the smallholdings; if we employed less labour intensive methods of land management no one would need to live on-site.

“The Inspector wrote that the Council had failed to have regard for our “aims of addressing the need to reduce the negative impacts of conventional farming and globalised food distribution”. Inspector Graham continued:

“I accept that the labour-intensive nature of such practices, necessary to ensure that a sustainable livelihood could be developed without resort to agro-chemicals and the reliance on fossil fuels, would require the worker’s presence and involvement to such an extent that the need could only be met by living on-site”.

“The Inspector’s written reasons for overturning the District Councillors’ refusal of permission also indicated that she valued both the co-operative model we have developed and the monitoring of, amongst other things, changes in biodiversity and productivity, which will be delivered alongside the smallholdings”.

“All the plotholders are now in the process of moving onto site and beginning their planting.  Busy, satisfying times!”

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We noted the support given by many and were particularly interested to see the Organic Research Centre’s assistance and that of Colin Tudge (Campaign for Real Farming) and colleagues who have set up the Fund for Enlightened Agriculture and has selected the Ecological Land Co-operative as one of eight projects it will be supporting in 2014. The FEA supports small enterprises that “have the potential to increase agricultural output, adopt sustainable farming methods, create local supply chains, increase employment and engagement, revive local economies and bring other social benefits”.

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