Member Article

Funding sought to keep city centre farm open

A popular inner-city farm, which attracts over 50,000 visitors per year, is seeking external funding to protect its future viability and continue to deliver its services.

The historic Ouseburn Farm located in the Lower Ouseburn Valley, Byker is hoping to raise enough funding to save it from closing down.

Established in 1973, the farm is a registered charity and includes an array of animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, goats, ducks and other livestock. It also contains gardens, an orchard, coffee shop and educational classrooms that accommodate school children and vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals and communities providing them with the skills to develop.

Located less than one mile from the City Centre, Ouseburn Farm is owned by Newcastle City Council and leased by housing provider, Tyne Housing Association (THA) who has contributed over £100,000 of the farms annual running costs for the last eight years. However, the impact of financial and policy changes required by Government have encouraged all housing providers such as Tyne Housing Association to review their business operations and identify further efficiencies.

The Board of Tyne Housing Association recently reviewed its operations and has agreed a significant restructure of the business that will create efficiencies to protect the long-term financial viability of the organisation. The outcome of this review is that the organisation will no longer be able to continue to fund the farms deficit post April 2017.

Ian Johnson, Chief Executive at Tyne Housing Association, said: “Due to external factors at a regional and national level, we have reviewed our business operations to create further efficiencies. This has been a very difficult process, which has had many implications for our business plan.

“In order to protect the long-term financial viability of the organisation we, like many other housing providers across the country, have identified savings and it is with regret that we will be unable to continue our financial contribution to the farm after the end of this financial year.

“We understand this is potentially very disappointing news for visitors and the local community who enjoy exploring this fantastic inner-city tourist attraction. As a charity, the farm relies on personal and corporate donations, bookings for workshops, school visits and children’s parties but without additional funding, it is not sustainable. We are working hard to find a rescue package that will help the farm to become self-sustainable and enable it to remain open.

“We are very proud that we have been able to support the farm financially for the past eight years and are committed to fund the farm’s deficit until April 2017 but we hope this announcement will give us enough time to find the best possible solution. In the meantime, the farm will continue to remain open and operate as normal.”

Cllr Stephen Powers, Cabinet Secretary said: “The farm is a fantastic asset in the Ouseburn Valley, visited by families and children from across Newcastle. The Council is proud to have had a long involvement with the Farm and was instrumental in saving it 10 years ago. This has no doubt been a difficult decision for Tyne Housing Association. The Council will do all it can to work alongside THA to try and find a way of securing the future of the Farm after April 2017.”

The farm is free to enter and is run by six full-time staff, two part-time staff and up to 20 volunteers. During term-time, the farm provides heritage, farm-based and environmental education for over 4,000 school children and students. The workshops help agricultural, horticultural and environmental skills of vulnerable adults, volunteers and members of the public through the livestock, growing and environmental projects based at the farm.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Up North Communications .