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FZH07 Plot 2 Management Plan

Management Plan for Plot 2, Furzehill Green

Compiled by Bettina & Trevor Davies,

November 2019

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TABLE OF CONTENTS BUSINESS PLAN 3

o Introduction 3 o Note on the name ,Gillyflower, 4

o Executive Summary 5

o Detailed Description 6

CV,s Market research Comparable prices Start-up investment Value-added processing Labour

o Growing Methods & Soil Management 19

o Activities Year 1- 5 22

o Risk Assessment and Mitigation 23

o Profit and Loss Forecasts 24

o Previous Accounts 32

o Appendix A 33

o Appendix B 34

BASIC NEEDS CALCULATIONS 39 LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN 42 TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT 49 DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE 52

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BUSINESS PLAN INTRODUCTION This application is compiled and submitted by Bettina and Trevor Davies. We’ve been running Gillyflower, our viable, organic cut flower growing business in Hertfordshire, since 2014. Both originally from performing arts backgrounds, we have gained extensive experience in horticulture over the past 7 years, through formal training, volunteering and, learning by doing (please see our CV’s from page 7 for more detailed information.) We’ve proved that we can make a significant profit from a very small plot of land and we’re now eager to expand production in order to earn a full livelihood from our horticultural activities. In keeping with our intention to explore symbiotic horticultural practice, we will grow many edible crops alongside the flowers. These will include a great variety of top and soft fruit and culinary herbs. We’ll also install a number of beehives on site, in order to obtain comb honey for sale and for our own use. Trevor’s paternal family hailed from Aberdare and he’s previously studied and worked in Cardiff, Penarth and Milford Haven and has many family connections in South Wales. He’s always wanted to settle down in Wales and we’re both really excited about the possibility of doing so and of becoming a part of the local community at Furzehill and Gower. We are deeply committed to sustainable growing practices, and to a low-impact lifestyle and we’ve been seeking an opportunity to align the two within our financial means. We’ve intentionally travelled along a non-consumerist path for many years, including growing much of our own food whenever space permitted, travelling by train, bike or on foot, and making many everyday items by hand or buying secondhand rather than new. Being stewards of a residential smallholding would be the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.

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Note on the name , Gillyflower1: When thinking about possible names for our business six years ago we were looking for something that would conjure up images of bygone times, of cornfields spangled with brightly coloured wildflowers – and felt that Gillyflower fit the ticket perfectly. (The word derives from the old French for cloves, ,giroflee,, and was used in medieval and renaissance England to describe any flower that had a sweet-spicy scent, such as Sweet William, Stocks and Pinks. It appears in many diverse modern sources too, for example in a poem by William Morris “The Gilliflower of Gold” and in the song “Wait” from Sondheim,s musical ,Sweeney Todd,.) Unfortunately it quickly became clear that we had completely missed the mark! More often than not, callers would ask to speak to Gilly, clearly thinking that we had named our business after one of it’s owners. It turned out that medieval horticultural references are indeed, bygone, forgotten, lost from everyday use. In this light we’ve decided to look for a new name for our new business. Hopefully, it’ll still conjure up the beauty of an old-fashioned, cottage garden, whilst being resolutely anchored in the 21st Century!

1 http://www.gillyflower.org.uk

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Our aim is to establish a beautiful and productive smallholding, producing cut flowers, top and soft fruit, herbs and honey for the local market. Building on our extensive experience of cut flower growing, we will create a total flower growing area of 1 ½ acres to produce a wide range of seasonal flowers and foliages. These will be sold wholesale to local florists and direct to local customers via local shops and potentially with Cae Tan, the neighbouring CSA and box scheme on the Furzehill site. We will plant a mixed orchard on 1 acre, using permaculture design principles. This will maximise the use of space and create a resilient, diverse eco-system through growing a great variety of plants in different layers – fruit trees (including apples, pears, plums, cherries, quince, and medlars) as the top layer, underplanted with bush fruit (gooseberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants) and herbs (mint, comfrey, chives, hyssop, sage and many more) as the ground layer. The fruit and herbs will be sold fresh, direct to local customers and any windfalls or surplus will be sun-dried and sold as fruit leathers, dried fruit slices and herbal tea mixtures. We will keep bees initially for pollination, to increase biodiversity on site and to obtain small amounts of honey for our own use. We aim to follow the philosophy of natural beekeeping,2 which places bee health above maximum production of honey. Nevertheless, within a few years we expect to be able to supply the local market with a worthwhile volume of raw comb honey and some beeswax products. Our permaculture design will utilise existing boundaries, hedgerows, orientation and gradients while adding new features such as hedgerows and ponds to increase biodiversity across the site. We aim to be as self-sufficient as possible, producing most of our mulches and composts on site, harvesting rainwater for irrigation, propagating cut flower plants and herbs from saved seed and growing most of our own food. An off-grid, land based life will be the realisation of a long held ambition. We aspire to a modest livelihood, earned by growing healthy and beautiful produce for the local community.

2 Chandler, P (2007) The Barefoot Beekeeper

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF OUR BUSINESS At Furzehill, four strands of production will be integrated to create a harmonious whole – cut flowers, fruit, herbs and honey. Flowers – 1½ acres Orchard, comprising top fruit underplanted with soft fruit and herbs - 1 acre Honey – Our goal will be to have 6 hives on site, possibly siting more hives on adjacent fields later on. By diversifying our horticultural activities we’ll avoid reliance on a single crop. A robust and agile approach will allow us to respond quickly to fluctuations in demand and environmental conditions. Our intention is to sell all our produce within an eight mile radius of the site (to include Swansea florists), thereby contributing to the local economy and playing a part in the revival of small-scale land-based enterprise.

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1) Our backgrounds

Bettina: After a successful career as a contemporary dancer, choreographer and community dance teacher I decided to re-train in horticulture.

In 2013, I obtained a Level 2 Extended Certificate from Capel Manor College, London (the focus of this course was on fruit and vegetable cultivation.) At the same time, I gained experience of salad leaf production and small scale market gardening as a regular volunteer (1-2 days/week) at Calabaza Growers in Sutton, South London. I also regularly volunteered at Sunnyside Rural Trust in Berkhamsted, a horticultural charity offering training to adults with learning difficulties. Here, my duties included plant propagation, planting, growing of polytunnel crops and orchard maintenance.

In 2014 Trevor and I set up Gillyflower, our cut flower growing business, initially on ¼ acre. Over the past years our activity has increased to an area of just over ½ acre on two sites, where we grow an extensive range of cut flowers and foliage during a season spanning March-October. Through many hours of home study and practice I have learnt sufficient floristry skills to be able to offer a full wedding floristry service. To date, we have supplied flowers for over 70 weddings, many funerals and events. We also sell wholesale to florists, provide weekly subscription flowers for local businesses and sell bunches via an upmarket antiques emporium. We have been members of Flowers from the Farm since 2015.3

As part of our lease agreement with one of our landlords, I have managed a small orchard of apples, pears, cherries and gages. At the same site we have also planted a native hedgerow and brought our landlord’s 300 metre hedgerow back to health after some years of neglect.

I was also involved in the local Transition Town group and together with Trevor, initiated a community growing project, resulting in a small group of Berkhamsted residents growing vegetables and cut flowers for their own use in a polytunnel and adjacent allotment plot.

In 2013-2015 Trevor and I cultivated our own allotment on a municipal site. During this time we managed to be entirely self-sufficient in veg and soft fruit year round, from the produce grown on the allotment plot plus our share from the community growing site mentioned above. I continue to attend various short courses to further my knowledge of aspects of horticulture, past courses include a ,no-dig, course with Charles Dowding, ,Setting up a Community Orchard, with the East of England Apples and Orchard Project and cut-flower production with Georgie Newbery at Common Farm Flowers.

3 http://www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk

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Trevor : I hold a Bachelor of Music degree (1974) from Brandon University (Canada), and a Licentiate Diploma in acting from the Welsh College of Music and Drama (1977). I’m also a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique (1991) having completed a three year full time training course in London.

I’ve worked as a freelance actor, musician, writer and composer and Alexander teacher for most of my life apart from a stint as a Royal Mail postman in the early 2000’s. Employers include BBC Radio and Television, ITV, Channel 5, The National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Chichester Festival, many rep and fringe theatre companies, and films and television. As our horticultural business has grown, I’ve limited my performing work to 2-3 weeks per year in film, television and commercials. Between 1985 and 1992 I was co-owner and co-director of Brother Louis Productions, writing, composing and co-directing musical theatre events at the NEC, the SEC, the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, and the Arts Theatre in the West End of London.

Apart from living in Cardiff (1976-1981) I’ve also lived and worked in Milford Haven and Penarth. My paternal family hailed from Aberdare, and I have many family connections in South Wales.

With my wife Bettina I’ve spent most of my working hours over the last 6 years setting up and developing our cut flower growing business, Gillyflower, in Hertfordshire. Together we volunteered with the Sunnyside Rural Trust and also grew our own food on our municipal allotment. We were active members of our local Transition Town group, and through them instigated a community growing project on the Sunnyside site.

As part of the business, I’ve further developed relevant skills and taken up new ones as needs arose. My working hours are spent digging, weeding and planting; in building/construction (polytunnel, cold frames, raised beds, gates and fencing, managing the composting, irrigation/plumbing, etc); in custom making of wooden flower boxes, wedding arches, etc; and doing basic land maintenance.

While the internet has had a decreasing importance in our work, we have continued to maintain a website and a social media presence. Though all of the design work on the website was collaborative, I took responsibility for its technical creation and maintenance, as well as dealing with our web hosts. Both Bettina and I took most of the photographs, with a few contributions from visitors and customers.

I took up the scythe in the earliest days of Gillyflower, and after an initial training with Beth Tilston, have enjoyed honing both my blades and my technique on our fields.

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Recently I attended a course in round wood timber framing with Dylan Walker and Paddy Cox at the Sustainability Centre near Petersfield, where we constructed a frame in 4 days. I now look forward to more ambitious construction projects both domestic and horticultural.

I’m currently waiting to attend a natural beekeeping course, and in the meantime I’m building a horizontal top bar hive. The aim is to keep healthy bees in a natural symbiosis with our flower beds and orchard, while encouraging other pollinators and a broad range of pollinating plants.

I’ve been interested in environmental issues and low impact living since my teens. I first read John Seymour in the 70’s, and have continued to digest the new developments in energy conservation and environmental thinking. I’m particularly interested in the principle of symbiosis as explored by the permaculture movement, and look forward to exploring it more extensively when we have access to more land and our own dwelling place.

2) Market research To date we have contacted four well established florists in the Swansea area.4 These florists are recommended suppliers to the many exclusive wedding venues on the Gower. All florists replied promptly, saying that they’d be very interested in buying from a local grower and asked to be kept informed with further developments of our plans. We spoke to Tom O’Kane at Cae Tan5 about the possibility of linking in with their Community Supported Agriculture scheme and he was very open to the idea. This could work for all our produce – CSA members could opt to add a bunch of flowers, a quantity of soft and top fruit, fresh herbs and herbal teas to their weekly veg box. The particulars of the arrangement will have to be worked out with Cae Tan. There are currently no cut flower growers on Gower. During our recent visit we met and spoke to one of Cae Tan’s former apprentices, who is intending to start a trial cut flower area next year. We agreed to co-operate in whichever way will be conducive to our businesses, by for example each growing different crops, sharing a market stall or selling as a cooperative. With our years of expertise in growing a wide range of flowers and foliages we feel we’re perfectly placed to fill this gap in locally grown produce.

4 http://www.ruthmiltonjones.com, http://www.evefrancescadesigns.co.uk,

http://www.myvintageflower.co.uk, http://www.vintagebloom.co.uk 5 http://www.caetancsa.org

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As far as we can see, there are currently no commercial fruit growers on Gower, apart from a newly established strawberry and raspberry pick-your-own enterprise on a dairy farm in Scurlage6. The fruit there is grown under cover, the strawberries in bags of compost on long tables, which is a very different arrangement from the organically managed permaculture approach we propose. Judging from the success of Cae Tan who are currently supplying their organically grown produce to 120 households (with a further 50 on a waiting list), we are confident that the demand for our fruit exists in the area. Furthermore, according to current data7, Britain only grows 12% of the fruit it consumes, so we believe that there will be room to expand for us in this area as we continue to develop our holding.

6 http://www.gowerpickyourown.wales 7 Lang, T (2020), Feeding Britain, Our Food Problems and How to Fix them, Pelican Books

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Comparable Prices While we are committed to organic growing methods (never using artificial fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides) we don’t intend to apply for organic certification, at least not initially, due to the costs and extensive administration involved. This will have to be taken into account when deciding on prices for our produce. Flowers: Wholesale Prices - Data gathered from Flowers by Clowance8 and Highcroft Nurseries9 Cornwall, both wholesalers/growers. These prices are for British grown flowers, which tend to be slightly higher than imported equivalents (where they exist). The above suppliers do not offer flowers grown to organic standard or certified organic. Our produce is grown to Organic Standards entailing labour-intensive cultivation and attention, our prices reflect a modest premium over non-organic suppliers. Added value is apparent – increased vase life, scent, and quality of blooms – and justifies the difference in price. Variety British grown, not

organic, 2019 prices Our price, 2019 prices

Astrantia 42p/stem 45p/stem Campanula 70p/stem 75p/stem Cornflower 37p/stem 40p/stem Dahlia 40p/stem 50p/stem Larkspur 55p/stem 55p/stem Peony £1.40/stem £1.50/stem Scabious 35p/stem 40p/stem Snapdragons 70p/stem 70p/stem Sweet William 20p/stem 30p/stem Ranunculus 50p/stem 55p/stem

(The above is a small sample of what we will grow, which will be up to 30 varieties of annuals and more than 60 varieties of perennials.)

8 http://www.flowersbyclowance.co.uk 9 http://www.bjrichardsflowers.co.uk

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Retail prices for mixed bunches:

Data gathered from the Flowers from the Farm members forum suggests that retail prices for mixed bunches of seasonal flowers vary a great deal, depending on location/demography. We have been selling small bunches (9-12 stems) for £10 at an upmarket local Antiques emporium. While this has worked very well in affluent Hertfordshire, we expect a slightly lower price for mixed bunches in South Wales. In our Profit and Loss forecasts, we have assumed a price of £8.00. Fruit: Retail Prices - Data gathered from Waitrose Duchy Organic10, Abel & Cole11, Soil Association Market Place12. Without organic certification, a decrease in price against certified fruit will have to be accepted. Variety British Organic Our price Dessert Apples £4.00/kg £3.10/kg Cooking Apples £3.70/kg £2.80/kg Gooseberries £2.40/100g £2.00/100g Raspberries £3.00/100g £2.30/100g Redcurrants £2.40/100g £2.00/100g Blackcurrants £2.40/100g £2.00/100g

10 http://www.waitrose.com 11 http://www.abelandcole.co.uk 12 http://www.soilassociation.org/farmers-growers/market-information/price-data/

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Fruit Yield Research: Fruit yields can vary enormously, depending on the variety, rootstocks used, soil fertility, climatic conditions and so on. We have based our estimates in our Profit & Loss Forecasts on figures given by Patrick Whitefield13 and Garden Organic14. For example, apples on dwarfing rootstocks are expected to start yielding from Year 3, and give a full yield from Year 6-7. An average of 41kg per tree can be expected as a full yield. (We have assumed 12% of a full yield in Year 3.) Soft fruit yields can be expected the second year after planting, full yields can be expected from the 3rd to 5th year after planting. Herbs: Data taken from Abel & Cole. Variety Organic Our price Mint, fresh £1.95/30g £1.50/30g Sage, fresh £2.50/30g £1.70/30g Thyme, fresh £2.50/30g £1.60/30g Oregano £2.50/30g £1.60/30g Lovage £2.70/30g £1.70/30g

Honey: Online research of comparable produce. Item British Raw Comb

Honey Our price

Comb Honey, raw £9/200g

(Average Price) £9/200g

13 Whitefield, P (1996) How to Make a Forest Garden, Permanent Publications, page 84-114 14

www.gardenorganic.org.uk/sites/www.gardenorganic.org.uk/files/resources/public/Fruit_Manual_Combined.pdf

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3) Start-up Investment

We are passionate about creating a business and lifestyle based on permaculture principles. Thoughtful design of all aspects of our set-up will mean that maximum output is achieved with minimum input, of fossil fuels, costly infrastructure and repetitive labour where it is not necessary. We intend to cultivate our site with a minimum of machinery, relying instead on techniques such as permanent no-dig beds for our cut flower area and weed suppressant fabric covering the paths between the beds. This system has worked very well for us on our existing site and has led to consistently high yields of high quality cut flowers. Grass management will be done predominantly with a scythe, with perhaps the occasional use of a walking tractor. We’ll also create wild flower areas to attract a wealth of beneficial insects; these areas will need minimal management and will be maintained with a traditional cut in late Summer/early Autumn. We estimate that we’ll invest an initial £15,000 into farm infrastructure and plant stock, broken down as listed below. This will be paid for from our private funds. 1)Polytunnel (18ft x 66ft), £3000 As on our current site in Hertfordshire, most of our crops will be grown outdoors. However, in order to extend the season in early Spring and late Autumn and to maximise earning potential, under cover growing facilities will be needed. Current polytunnel suppliers recommend the replacement of the polythene cover every 5 years. We feel this is an unacceptable waste of plastic, having kept our current cover in good condition by twice yearly washing with water. The cover is now over 6 years old and with good maintenance, should last many more years. 2) Greenhouse (6ft x 8ft), already owned We’ll use our existing domestic greenhouse for propagation of annual and perennial cut flower plants. 3) Shed/Indoor processing space, material costs estimated £300 We intend to use one of our bays in the ELC barn for conditioning, arranging and packaging – first of flowers and later, of flowers, fruit and herbs. This would entail enclosing and insulating the bay, using reclaimed materials where possible. 4) Rainwater harvesting, £2400, including pipes and drip tape At Furzehill, we intend to harvest rainwater for irrigation purposes. We’ll create several harvesting stations around the site, probably using IBC containers feeding off existing roof structures (e.g. polytunnel, processing shed) or arranged under an especially constructed low roof structure as necessary. The water will then be fed to the growing sites via pipes and drip irrigation tape where needed. Each container will be sited to maximise the effect of gravity; this plus having several containers dotted around the site will avoid costly water pumps. 5) Solar drier, estimated £100 We’ll build a solar drier for drying herbs and surplus fruit. As with the processing

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space and the rain harvesting stations, reclaimed materials would be used wherever practical. 6) Flower and Foliage stock, £3000 We already have an extensive stock of perennial plants from our existing flower growing site and a stock of seed from our annual plants. In addition, we intend to buy some nursery grown stock as established 2-3 year old plants, especially high value crops such as roses, peonies and a variety of foliage plants, in order to obtain first harvests as soon as possible. 7) Fruit trees and bushes, £1500 Our permaculture orchard will incorporate ideas pioneered by Stefan Sobkowiak15 and Michael Phillips16. One of the main innovations of Sobkowiak,s design is the interplanting of fruit trees with nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs (such as black locust, broom and oleaster) creating a self-supporting cycle of soil nutrients. Thus annual addition of extra nutrients will be reduced to a minimum. Tree spacing will be in rows 3 metres apart, with rows 3.5 metres apart. In each 3 metre gap between trees we’ll plant at least 2 soft fruit bushes. These will be underplanted with a continuous cover of herbs, yielding an additional crop while acting as a living, weed-suppressing mulch. The above budget covers the purchase of an initial stock of approximately 200 fruit trees, soft fruit bushes and nitrogen-fixing trees. These will be bought from Welsh nurseries and the emphasis will be on selecting local and heritage varieties that will thrive at the Furzehill site. 8)Additional trees and hedging plants, £400 These will include nitrogen fixing trees and shrubs for our orchard, as well as a wide range of hedging plants to create shelter for the orchard area. Here, carefully chosen species will provide multiple outputs, such as berries or nuts that are edible to humans and/or birds (i.e. Elder, Amelanchier, Eleagnus, Hazel) and ornamental use as florists, foliage (i.e. Ribes, Prunus, Cornus and more). 9) Tree stakes, ties and guards, £200 This budget will provide stakes, ties and guards for our initial ½ acres of orchard. 10) Herb stock, existing The herbs for the ground layer will be grown from seed and cuttings taken from our existing site. They will include: Marjoram, Comfrey, Mint, Borage, Fennel, Sage, Hyssop, Parsley, Crimson Clover, Garlic Chives, Thyme, Rosemary and many more. 11) Apiary, cost for initial 3 hives, £360

15 www.miraclefarm.ca 16 Phillips M, (2011) The Holistic Orchard, Chelsea Green Publishing

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Beginning with a single top bar hive in the first season, we’ll build and install further hives as new colonies are established. Where appropriate, reclaimed wood will be used as elsewhere, any new timber being untreated, weather resistant British-grown varieties (Western Red Cedar, larch, false acacia) 12) Machinery, estimated £500 The only machinery we anticipate a need of is a mower for occasional grass cutting. We’ll investigate the possibility of sharing Cae Tan,s mower, or to share one with the other smallholding family on site. 13) Training, budget of £1200 Trevor intends to work with experienced apiarists while establishing and developing our hives. He also intends to undertake more training in round wood timber framing in preparation for the building of necessary wooden structures on the holding (solar drying cabinet, water harvesting stations, composting system bins, working and storage buildings). Bettina will attend a course in post-harvest drying techniques at Hackney Herbal17. 14) Plant Stakes, Weed fabric, Horticultural Fleece, £1500 This budget will cover the initial materials needed to establish 1 acre of cut flower production. 15) Website design, budget £300

17 www.hackneyherbal.com

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4) Value added processing We intend to sell as much as possible of our produce fresh. However, it is likely that there will be a surplus at times, e.g. windfall apples and gluts of soft fruit and herbs, especially in the early stages of our enterprise while we’re still building up our customer base. We’ll make sure that produce won,t go to waste by drying it and selling it in the form of fruit leathers, dried fruit slices and herbal tea mixtures. We intend to build a solar drier and use minimum packaging. Apart from the fruit leathers, which may require small quantities of sugar to enhance taste, we don’t anticipate having to buy in any additional ingredients.

Example of an off-grid solar drier found on https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/tools/solar-food-dehydrator-plans-zm0z14jjzmar

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5) Labour needed

Our varied strands of horticultural production will amount to a full-time occupation and livelihood for both Bettina and Trevor Davies. We anticipate each of us to work approximately 57 hours per week during the main season (March-October) and approximately 38 hours/week during the Winter (November – February). These projected hours are extrapolations from our working experience over the last 6 years. They take into account both 1) a reduction of travel hours compared to our current daily travel of 12 to 15 miles to and from our current sites, and 2) an anticipated increase in working hours relating to an increased scale of production, scale of the site, and an increased diversity of projects. We anticipate that we will need additional help at times, especially during peak fruit picking time (July – September). We intend to recruit a small pool of local volunteers who are interested and committed to helping out with various jobs on a regular basis. In exchange for their labour, we’ll offer lunch and surplus produce as and when available, plus training in organic horticulture practices as used by us in the everyday running of our enterprise. While running our existing business we have worked with a regular volunteer for 5 years along these lines and this has worked very well for both parties. (This volunteer now feels sufficiently knowledgeable to start her own flower-growing enterprise.) We might consider hosting Woofers in the future but this is not an immediate possibility due to the associated costs of accommodation.

6) Expected Profitability Cut Flowers: On the basis of our past 6 years experience, our expectation is that income from the cut flower business will commence as soon as the flower garden is producing, within the first growing season. In terms of this projection, the main deciding factor is the timing of our getting access to the land. This will ideally be at some point during the Summer/early Autumn, in order to begin preparing the no-dig beds and to make full use of the bare-root planting season over the colder months. A delay at the wrong time of year could mean the loss of a whole growing/selling season. If this mistiming is avoidable, we would anticipate significant turnover (if not significant profit) in the first year, and profit thereafter. Fruit and Herbs: Assuming our getting access to the land in Autumn, we’ll start planting bare root fruit bushes and trees and some of the herb layer straight away. Based on experience, we expect the herb layer to give sufficient yields for sale by Year 2, however the soft fruit would not start producing until Year 3, and the top fruit would start producing in Year 4. Harvests will then increase yearly for the next few years until the plants have reached maturity and their full yield potential.

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GROWING METHODS We wholeheartedly believe in and have only ever practiced organic growing methods, never using artificial pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides. Instead we manage our ½ acre flower fields by the application of the following: Fertility: Yearly application of well rotted manure and/or home-made compost. Use of nettle, comfrey and compost teas to add nutrients (N/P/K) as appropriate. Occasional application of organic dried chicken manure if extra nutrients required. Pesticides: Focus on prevention rather than a cure! Encouraging beneficial predators (birds, lacewings, ladybugs, ground beetles, toads and frogs and more) through habitat creation and planting of popular food plants. Ensuring adequate watering regime and ventilation/airflow at all times. Early season application of compost teas to increase resilience against fungal infection. Manual removal of pests, including water spray. Herbicides: Manual removal of perennial weeds as needed.

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Application of light-excluding mulches A corner stone of our growing methods has been and will be no-dig cultivation, as developed by Charles Dowding18. We observed greatly improved soil quality and structure on our flower fields (and previously on our municipal allotment) after only two years of following this method and are convinced that this is the right path for us. Livestock We will keep a few chickens to provide us with eggs for our own use and to help with pest control. The chickens will be housed in a moveable ,tractor, for easy relocation around the site as needed. We’ll create appropriately large areas surrounded by electric fence for them to roam in during the day time. Their droppings will add to soil fertility and we’ll add their litter to our compost heaps. We’re aiming to grow some of their food on site, in the form of sunflower seeds and a variety of grains. Soil management and improvement Flower growing area: The entire area of 1 ½ acres will be laid out as permanent no-dig beds. These will be created by laying cardboard on the existing sward, then covering it with a 5 inch layer of green waste compost and well rotted manure, both locally sourced. The thick layer of cardboard and organic matter ensures weed suppression, while earth worms and other soil organisms gradually incorporate the organic matter into the underlying soil. Research has shown that this method results in a healthy soil structure, capable of holding significantly more water than dug soils. Based on our current working methods we’ve also noticed a marked increase in soil quality when mulching soils with hay. This ensures moisture retention, thus attracting earth worms into the upper soil layers, where they continue their invaluable work of aerating and adding nutrients. We anticipate that from Year 2 onwards, we’ll be able to create enough of our own compost to top up ½ of our flower plot annually, and we’ll be self-sufficient in hay for mulching. We’re also keen to experiment with permanent green manures, for example undersowing roses and foliage shrubs with white clover. This will suppress weeds and due to the nitrogen-fixing ability of the clover, annual feeding of the crop plants will be minimal. This will save on some of the expense of imported compost and manures and ensure a greater self-reliance of our holding. Orchard: As mentioned above, we’d like to include some ideas pioneered by Stefan

18 http://www.charlesdowding.co.uk

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Sobkoviak into our orchard design. This will include the planting of nitrogen –fixing shrubs (such as Black Locust, Eleagnus species, Siberian Pea shrub and others) amongst the fruit trees, in order to create a self-sustaining cycle of soil nutrients. In order to further increase beneficial microbial and fungal activity, we’ll mulch the trees and shrubs bi-annually with a woodchip mulch (from broadleaved trees), which will activate mycorrhizal activity in the soil. The mycorrhizal association with the tree,s roots increases access to nutrients and promotes soil health without the need for synthetic fungicides and pesticides. Biodiversity: Creating a landscape that integrates horticultural productivity within a diverse habitat for wildlife is one of our main goals for the field at Furzehill. At our current site our planting of a native hedgerow has noticeably increased the local bird population, including blue tits and wrens, which help to keep down numbers of unwanted insects like aphids, caterpillars and cutworms. In order to prevent the birds eating our berry crop we’ll plant small-berried bushes and climbers within the orchard area, such as rowan and honeysuckle, which will act as decoy and additional food source for the birds. We’re planning to establish several wild flower areas as a food source for our honeybees and to attract many other beneficial insect species. We’re aiming at a minimum maintenance regime of one yearly cut in late Summer/Autumn, in order to keep these areas as undisturbed and self-regenerating as possible. We’ll also dig three ponds to attract frogs, toads and further beneficial insects, thus further adding to the vibrant web of interdependent life on our holding.

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ACTIVITIES YEARS 1 - 5

Year 1

- Moveontothelandintemporarydwelling

- Begintoestablishcutflowergrowingarea

- Begintoestablish,nodig,vegetableareafordomesticfood

- Install4bayaerobiccompostingsystemfor2to3yearrotation(tohandlealldomestic

andcommercialcompostablematerialsincludinghumanwaste)

- Install30mx8mpolytunnelfordomesticandcommercialproduce

- Installrainwaterharvestingstationsforflowerandvegetablegrowingareas

o Harvestviagutteringonbothsidesofthepolytunnel(60Mofguttering)

- Beginplantingfruittreesandbushesinorchardarea

- Beginplantingnewhedgerowsaroundorchardandflowerareas

Year 2

- Commenceconstructionofdwelling–

o carbonneutralhouse

o RoundwoodWelshtimberframe

o Welshwoolinsulation

o foundations–hardcore-filledrecycledstackedtyressunkin3cu.meterholes

o Welshtimbercladding

o corrugatedroof

o wood-firedcookerwithhotwaterboiler

o woodframeddoubleglazing(reclaimedifpossible)

o latheandlimeplaster/Welshwoodinnercladding

o reclaimedwoodkitchenworksurfaces,shelvesandcupboards

o Setupbasicdomesticwatersupplyfromrainwatercollectionwithfiltration

! mainsconnectiononlyifrequiredbyplanningregulations

o Externalwastecollectiontoilet

- Continuetoestablishcutflowergrowingarea

- Continuetoestablishvegetablegrowingarea

- Continueplantingorchardarea,includingherblayer

- Continueplantinghedgerowstocreateshelteraroundorchardandcutflowerareas

- Installrainwaterirrigationsystemfororchardarea

- Installchickensinmoveable,tractor,andelectricfencesystem

- Install2beehives

- Beginplantingshortrotationcoppice

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Year 3

- Continueinteriorfittinganddecoratingofdwelling

- Expandcutflowergrowingareato1.5acres

- Establishsunflowerareaforoilproduction

- Expandpermacultureorchard,includingherblayer

- Addfurther2beehives

- Expand/addmorecompostingbaysasneeded

- Continueplantinghedgerows

- Digfirstpond

- Beginplantingcomfreyandbiomassgrowingareas

- Continueplantingshortrotationcoppice

- Beginplantingwoodland

Year 4

- Plantmoretopandsoftfruitandherbsinorchardarea

- Expandsunflowerplantingarea

- Buildsolardrierforlargervolumedryingoffruitandherbs

- Digsecondpond

- Continueplantingcomfreyandbiomassgrowingareas

- Continueplantingwoodland

- Add2morebeehives

- Establishwildflowerareas

Year 5

- Continueplantingtopandsoftfruitandherbsinorchardarea

- Establishmorewildflowerareas

- Continueplantingwoodlandandhedges

- Digthirdpond

- Shortrotationcoppiceinfullproduction

- Allbusinessaspectsfullyestablished

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RISK ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION Weather: One of our main insights over the past 6 years of cut flower growing has been the fact that our perennial plants (herbaceous flowering perennials, foliage shrubs, trees) proved to be much more resilient than annuals, much better able to withstand periods of drought, and prolonged spells of wet weather. Therefore, our cut flower production will consist of up to 70% perennial plants, with only the hardiest, least demanding annuals added to the mix. Most of our holding will not require much water inputs, we’ll minimize irrigation by creating no-dig beds, mulching, choice of plants and careful siting. Markets: By establishing several strands of horticultural production, we’ll be able to change focus quickly, should one strand become less profitable due to falling demand. There are many possibilities of alternative use of the land, other than outlined in this business plan. For example, our cut flower area could be quickly converted to vegetable or herb growing or it could be used for the production of potted plants and shrubs, should there be a proven demand. Financing: Our personal cost of living at Furzehill would be dramatically lower than our current costs in Hertfordshire. We have a modest regular income from Trevor’s pension, variable yearly royalties from his past media work, and occasional engagements as an actor - between £10,000 to 12,000 per year after tax. Consequently we’re confident that we can ride out any temporary fall(s) in income derived from our holding. Given the current political and economic uncertainty, problems on the larger scale can’t really be foreseen. However we have combined decades of experience of self-employment and have always managed to stay afloat, so we’re confident we’ll be able to find solutions to any unforeseen challenges.*

Competitors: There are currently no cut flower growers nor any commercial organic fruit growers on Gower. In our current location in Hertfordshire, there are several cut flower growers within a 15 mile radius, which has not had a noticeable negative impact on our business. On the contrary, we have supported each other by buying flowers from each other when we experienced a shortfall and by sharing information and growing tips. We could also imagine co-operating with similar businesses by diversifying crops so as to offer something different from theirs or forming a co-operative. *Coronavirus, Brexit, Food Chains, and Flowers Since we first submitted this business plan to the ELC last November, dramatic developments - medical, political, financial and social – have arisen.

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While our intentions and preparations relating to sustainability, biodiversity, land management, social engagement and low impact living remain unchanged, we’re aware that we need to be sensitive and responsive to changes outside our control. Recent dramatic changes have made nonsense of overconfident predictions at all levels. In our case this will be most relevant to our plans for cut flower production on the Gower peninsula. Our current experience of cut flower sales is that there,s a high demand for locally grown flowers, in the form of direct sales/deliveries to customers, while at the same time many weddings and larger scale celebrations have been cancelled, resulting in the loss of florist sales. As a result, we’ll seek to increase direct flower sales on Gower, in order to re-balance our various routes to market. As we’ve recently discussed with the ELC, we’re ready and willing to shift the emphasis of our enterprise to increased production of edible crops. The current crisis has highlighted the crucial importance of local food supply chains and we want to respond to that by growing as much edible produce for the local community as we can. In the short term we propose to grow significantly more soft fruit than initially planned, along with a variety of annual and perennial vegetables. Alongside Cae Tan and Big Meadow Community Supported Agriculture schemes we’ll endeavour to contribute to the supply of fruit and vegetables to the local community. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and to respond appropriately.

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PROFIT & LOSS FORECASTS Cost of Production Cut Flowers ITEM YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5

Seeds £200 £120 £80 £60 £60 Plants & Bulbs £0* £600 £600 £400 £400 Seed compost £180 £90 £90 £90 £90 Green waste compost/manure

£450 £225 £225 £225 £225

TOTAL £830 £1,035 £995 £775 £775 *Initial cost of plants and bulbs listed under Investment. We will produce 50% of the seed compost needed from Year 2, from leaf mould and grass clippings.

Top Fruit & Soft Fruit ITEM YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5

Woodchip £400 £400 £400 £0* £0*

Moth traps £50 £50 £50 £50 £50

TOTAL £450 £450 £450 £50 £50

*We’ll produce all our own woodchip from our coppice and from hedge clippings by Year 4

Herbs ITEM YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5

Seeds £120 £60 £40 £40 £40

Seed compost £90 £90 £45 £45 £45

TOTAL £210 £150 £85 £85 £85

Honey ITEM YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5

Materials to build beehives

£120 £120 £120 0 0

TOTAL £120 £120 £120 0 0

Total cost of production for Flowers, Fruit, Honey and Herbs

YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5

TOTAL £1,610 £1,755 £1,650 £910 £910

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Overhead Costs

CATEGORY NOTES YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5

Land:

Land rent ELC Yearly repayment after downpayment of £57,000. Interest only payments Year 1-3

£3,213 £3,213 £3,213 £5,110 £5,110

Monitoring Fee ELC yearly fee £1,200 £1,200 £1,200 £1200 £1200

Wages: Wages for Trevor & Bettina Davies

£0 £2,500 £9,500 £11,000 £12,000

Buildings:

Maintenance Painting, structural repairs £200 £200 £200 £250 £250

Polytunnel Repair Tape £20 £20 £20 £20 £20

Equipment & Tools:

Hand Tools £50 £50 £50 £50 £50

Timber Various small building projects

£100 £150 £150 £250 £250

Weed Fabric Initial cost listed under Investment

0 0 £100 £100 £100

Plant Stakes Initial cost listed under Investment

0 0 £100 £100 £100

Drip Tape Initial cost listed under Investment

0 0 £90 £90 £90

Machine hire Mini-digger hire for polytunnel foundations

£240 0 0 0 0

Machinery maintenance

Shared mower £100 £100 £100 £150 £150

Irrigation Pipe Initial cost listed under Investment

0 0 £200 £100 £100

Flower buckets £50 £0 £50 £0 £50

Transport:

Vehicle insurance £470 £370 £370 £370 £370

Diesel £490 £490 £470 £470 £450

Van maintenance £300 £300 £300 £400 £400

Road Tax £160 £160 £160 £160 £160

Other costs:

Membership fees Flowers from the Farm £75 £75 £75 £75 £75

Smallholder Insurance

£230 £230 £230 £230 £230

Telephone/Internet £180 £180 £180 £180 £180

Website Design cost listed under Investment. Maintenance only from Year 2

£0 £100 £100 £100 £100

Website hosting £150 £150 £150 £150 £150

Computer costs Maintenance & software £200 £200 £150 £150 £100

Leaflets/Stationery £155 £155 £100 £100 £100

Packaging Flowers, Fruit & Teas £50 £100 £200 £250 £300

Honey Packaging £0 £40 £80 £100 £150

Work clothing £120 £120 £120 £100 £100

Volunteer lunches 2 lunches/week, @ £2/lunch, for 45 weeks/ year

£180 £180 £180 £180 £180

TOTAL £7,933 £10,283 £17,838 21,435 22,515

INVESTMENT & DEPRECIATION

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ITEM COST NOTES YEARS TO

SPREAD COST

COST PER YEAR

Polytunnel £3000 Only cover

depreciates, cost of cover = £450

15 £30

Delivery Vehicle

£9000 15 £600

Weed fabric £500 20 £25 Ground Staples £325 Plant Stakes £950 Flowers &

Orchard 15 £63

Plant Netting £500 15 £33 Horti Fleece £150 10 £15 Perennial Plants & Bulbs

£3000 - -

Fruit Trees £1100 20 £55 Soft Fruit Bushes

£400 25 £16

Other trees £100 - - Hedging plants £300 - - IBC containers £2000 20 £100 Water Pipe £300 20 £15 Drip Tape £100 10 £10 Share of Mower £500 10 £50 Backpack Sprayer

£150 15 £10

Trolley £125 - - TOTAL £1,022

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SALES

FLOWERS

ITEM OUTLET PRICE YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5

Stems sold

Wholesale Average 61p/stem

£8,845 £12,383 £17,690 21,228 £26,535

Sold to wedding florists

Average £305/ week

Average £427/week

Average £610/week

Average £732/ week

Average £915/ week

Bunches sold

Retail £8.00/ bunch

£1,624 £2,320 £3,248 £3,248 £3,248

Sold via shop/box scheme

Average £56/week

Average £80/week

Average £112/week,

Average £112/week

Average £112/ week

Subscription Flowers

Retail £25/bunch £725 £1,450 £2,175 £2,900 £2,900

Weekly bunches for restaurants, hotel receptions etc.

1 bunch/ week

2 bunches/ week

3 bunches/ week

4 bunches/ week

4 bunches week

TOTAL £11,194 £16,153 £23,113 £27,376 £32,683

*The above figures are based on a 29 week season.

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FRUIT

ITEM OUTLET PRICE YEAR 1

YEAR 2

YEAR 3

YEAR 4 YEAR 5

Dessert Apples

Direct Sales

£3.10/kg 0 0 0 0 £341

5kg each from 22 trees

Cooking Apples

Direct Sales

£2.80/kg 0 0 0 0 £112

5kg each from 8 trees

Plums Direct Sales

£3.50/kg 0 0 0 0 £122

5kg each from 7 trees

Gooseberries Direct Sales

£2.00/100g 0 0 £540 £810 £1620

1kg each from 27 bushes

1.5kg each from 27 bushes

81kg total from 54 bushes

Redcurrants Direct Sales

£2.00/100g 0 0 £100 £200 £400

0.5 kg each from 10 bushes

1kg each from 10 bushes

1kg each from 20 bushes

Raspberries Direct Sales

£2.30/100g 0 £310 £620 £930

0.5 kg each from 27 plants

1kg each from 27 plants

40.5 kg total from 54 plants

Other berries Direct Sales

£2.00/100g 0 £100 £200 £400

0.5 kg each from 10 bushes

1kg each from 10 bushes

1kg each from 20 bushes

TOTAL £1,050 £1,830 £3,925

*We’ll plant 37 fruit trees in Year 1, adding the same number in Year 2. A total of 74 soft fruit bushes will be planted in Year 1, with the same number being added in Year 2. More top and soft fruit will be added every year after that, to cover an area of up to a total area of 1 acre. As top and soft fruit takes a while to start yielding, we won’t see financial returns until Year 3 and we expect a steady increase in harvests from then on.

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HERBS

ITEM OUTLET PRICE YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5

Mixed Herbs, fresh

Direct Sales

£1.60/30g, £53.33/kg *Average Price

0 £266.65 £426.64 £639.96 £799.95

5kg mixed herbs

8kg mixed herbs

12kg mixed herbs

15kg mixed herbs

Herbal Teas, dried

Direct Sales

£3.95/50g 0 0 £55.30 £197.50 £395

1kg fresh herbs = approx. 100g dried

700g dried herbal mixture

2.5kg dried herbal mixture

5 kg dried herbal mixture

TOTAL £267 £482 £837 £1,195

HONEY

ITEM OUTLET PRICE YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5

Comb Honey

Direct Sales £9/200g 0 £270 £540 £765 £1,080

TOTAL £0 £270 £540 £765 £1,080

PROFIT & LOSS SUMMARY

CATEGORY YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5

Total Sales £11,194 £16,690 £25,185 £30,808 £38,883

Total Cost of Production

£1,610 £1,755 £1,650 £910 £910

Overheads £7,933 £10,283 £17,838 £21,435 £22,515

Depreciation £1,022 £1,022 £1,022 £1,022 £1,022

Total Margin: £629 £3,630 £4,675 £7,441 £14,436

*Note: the above margins show our business profits after the deduction of wages. (Wages are included under Overheads.) We will be able to pay ourselves a small wage in Year 2, and a more substantial wage from Year 3 onwards, until then we’ll use existing savings to cover our living expenses.

PAST ACCOUNTS FOR GILLYFOWER

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Year 2017/18 Year 2018/19

Total Sales: £14,955.58 £18,422.83 Costs: Plants and Bulbs £772.83 £1022.27 Seeds £219.66 £233.47 Seed Compost £101.89 £110.89 Manure £195 £50 Bought-in flowers £1054.34 £647.95 Car Lease Hire £2797.44 £2437.20 Car Insurance £1388.47 £1079.23 Diesel: £400.76 £581.88 Floristry Sundries £746.65 £373.54 Wages Floristry £307.50 £621.00 Infrastructure/Building Materials

£1554.68 £1379.72

Phone £382.98 £360 Land rent £540 £540 Water £68.64 £79.80 Website maintenance £0 £100 Website hosting £126.40 £172.80 Leaflets/Posters £154.33 £58.08 Room hire for workshops £0 £127.50 Smallholder Insurance £230.00 £264.96 Membership Fees £75.00 £75.00 Total Costs: £11,116.57 £10,315.29 Total Profit*: £3,839.01 £8,107.54

*Before deduction of wages

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Appendix A Annual Household Living Expenses on 1st habitation Food: £2,000 Cost of growing/rearing food: £308 Clothing and footwear: £260 Car fuel (for domestic trips): £170 Rail travel: £820 Buses: £100 IT/Communications: £224 Council Tax: £1,250 Miscellaneous other expenses (including home insurance, toiletries, gas*, water bills etc.) : £2,000 TOTAL: £7,132 Notes: *This is for occasional cooking during the Summer months, during the Winter we’ll use a wood burning range for cooking. -Rent and monitoring fee is included in our business costs, please see Overheads. -Wages are included in our business costs, please see Overheads. -We’re aiming to grow up to 65% of our food on site by Year 5. This will at least halve our current grocery bills.

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APPENDIX B Additional Annual Income: Trevor Pension: £7,356 Trevor Acting Work & Royalties: £11,000 (average for past 4 years) Note: - Trevor intends to gradually step back from his acting work in order to focus entirely on our land based enterprise. As we have outlined in our income and expenditure forecasts, by Year 3 we anticipate large enough earnings from our holding to enable Trevor to do so.

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BASIC NEEDS CALCULATIONS Annual Household Food Needs

While we currently don’t have the space to grow much of our own fruit and vegetables, we have previously successfully grown up to 80% of our requirements of the above on 2 municipal allotment plots. Current Food Needs: Category of food % of household food speValue £

Fruit and Vegetables 46.0 1,300 Cooking oil 3.4 96 Dairy (including eggs) 17 484 Grain mill products 10.4 297 Bread/rice/pasta/cereals 7.4 211 Others (Jams, preserves, sugetc.)

7.6 216

Non-alcoholic beverages 5.5 158 Alcoholic beverages 3.4 96 TOTAL 100 £2,858

The total annual food needs of our household are £2,858, or £1,429 per person. We expect to produce at least 60% of our total food needs on the site within 5 years. The remaining 40% will be bought locally with earnings from our land based enterprises and we will seek to barter/exchange other produce reared on our site against foods we can’t produce ourselves. (This fulfils the OPD criteria that a minimum of 30% of basic food needs of all occupants are grown or reared on the site, with the remaining 35% of food needs purchased or bartered using the income or surplus produce from other produce grown and/or reared on site (Paragraph 3.25).) This will mean that by Year 5 the total annual food needs of our household will be £1,143. (60% of £2,858 = £1,715, this subtracted from £2,858 = £1,143.) We will grow/ rear the following produce for our own consumption: Vegetables and fruit We will grow all vegetables and fruit to cater for our needs year-round on an area of ¼ acre. This will include staples such as carrots, potatoes, beetroot, many leafy vegetables (chard, kale, salads), pumpkins and squashes, as well as perennial vegetables such as Jerusalem artichokes, perennial kale and welsh onions. We’ll use a section of our polytunnel to grow heat-loving crops such as tomatoes, aubergines and peppers and to grow salad crops over winter for a steady supply of fresh greens.

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We will create a permaculture orchard, comprising many varieties of top and soft fruit and a great variety of herbs. While this is primarily intended as a commercial enterprise, we anticipate that the orchard will yield enough produce to cover our own needs. We will use windfall and blemished fruit to make our own juices, jams and chutneys and we aim to be self-sufficient in herbal teas from the herbs grown in the orchard. Eggs We will keep 5 chickens (sourced locally from ex-battery hens) to supply us with eggs and to help keep parasites in check in the orchard. Any surplus eggs will be useful bartering goods. We intend to grow most of their feed ourselves, in the form of mixed grains and sunflower seeds. Bees We will install up to 6 top-bar beehives on site to ensure pollination of our fruit trees and bushes and to provide us with enough honey for our own needs, as well as for sale in the form of unpasteurised comb honey. Oil We intend to produce up to 100% of our own cooking oil by growing sunflowers and extracting the oil from the seeds with a manual oil press. The sunflowers will be grown in 2 metre wide strips along the flower-and vegetable growing areas, this will help to attract beneficial insects as well as creating additional shelter from wind. In total the sunflowers will be grown on an area of ¼ acre.

Projected cost of growing/rearing food: * Item Value Poultry feed £50 Poultry bedding £80 Veterinary bills £60 Vegetable seed £70 Compost £48 TOTAL: £308

* These figures are based on our experience of growing vegetables, as well as gathered through relevant research of typical smallholding expenses. By Year 5 we expect to be able to halve the above total figure by growing much of the poultry feed needed and by saving our own vegetable seeds and producing home-made seed compost.

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Land Based Enterprises The amount required to meet our basic needs will be earned from our land-based enterprises. The following table is a breakdown of those needs. The figures are projections of our requirements on first habitation and by Year 5 and are based on our current expenditure, as detailed on the enclosed Ecological Footprint Calculator. Requirement Value £ on 1st habitation Value £ Year 5

Growing/rearing food costs 308 150 Food 2208 1143 Clothing and footwear 300 300 Travel Car Insurance,

Road tax and Car maintenance are covered by our business. Car fuel: £170 Rail travel: £820 Buses: £100

Car Insurance, Road tax and Car maintenance are covered by our business. Car fuel: £120 Rail travel: £700 Buses: £75

IT/Communications 224 224 Council Tax 1250 1250 TOTAL: £5,380 £3,934

As can be seen from the following tables, detailing our business income and outgoings, we will be able to earn enough money from our enterprises by Year 5 to meet the above costs.

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LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN

This document represents our plan for the management of Plot 2 of the Ecological Land Co-operative property at Furzehill, Ilston. Plot 2 is the long rectangular field on the right (East) of the aerial photograph on page 2. We have visited the site under weather conditions ranging from high winds and torrential rain to bright sunshine. Our most recent visit was as part of a two day tree and hedgerow-planting session involving ourselves, ELC employees and a large number of volunteers from Gower and farther afield. On these visits we have observed soil conditions and topography, current vegetation patterns, drainage and prevailing winds, and begun to assess the potential for the conservation, development and enhancement of the site. This plan should be seen in the context of our long term future relationships with the ELC and Swansea County Council (involving significant monitoring of our fulfilment of OPD requirements), the other smallholder on the site, and Cae Tan CSA, a Community Supported Agricultural enterprise leasing the third plot. According to the ecological survey conducted in January of this year by BSG Ecology (27/01/2020), the site currently exhibits a marked lack of biodiversity. The report indicates low biodiversity, poor management of existing hedgerows, and heavily agriculturally improved soil of “negligible ecological value”. We will apply both permaculture principles and organic cultivation to restore, develop and enhance the site. The more intensively cultivated areas will be fully integrated with the wilder, less intensively managed areas, so as to create a harmonious ecosystem humming with life. We will achieve this through:

• Soil improvement – recycling all organic waste from the site and reapplying it to the growing areas as mulch /fertiliser

• Careful restoration and maintenance of existing hedgerows and the planting of new ones • Establishment of an orchard on 1 acre comprising top fruit, soft fruit and herbs • Establishment of a 1 ½ acre cut flower garden • Establishment of a domestic vegetable garden of ¹/ 4 acre • Establishment of an apiary • Planting a coppice and small woodland • Establishing wild flower areas to attract pollinating insects • Building a small carbon neutral dwelling using Welsh round timber and employing Welsh

tradespeople. Our goals are

• a land-based enterprise focusing on the cultivation of cut flowers, top and soft fruit, and herbs and honey for sale to the local community.

• to fulfil the requirements of the One Planet policies of the Welsh Assembly • through our business and personal lives to contribute to the environmental, social, and

economic life of the Gower Peninsula .

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Plot 2 – long field on right (East) side

40

The perimeter hedgerow surrounding Plot 2 The Ecological survey noted that the existing hedgerow has been poorly maintained. A Gower-based hedgerow craftsman recently estimated that the hedgerow on the West side of the field hadn’t received proper maintenance since the end of WWII. Our program will involve:

• improving the old hedgerow with a variety of new native plants (beech, dogwoods, hawthorn, bird cherry, crab apple etc.).

• repairing and training using traditional hedge-laying methods.

• allowing the hedgerow to recover via a traditional 7 year laying cycle • The improved hedgerow will ultimately provide wildlife habitat for birds and small

mammals, wind shelter, edible berries and fruit as well as some wood for domestic heating, cooking and garden mulch.

New Hedgerows We will create new hedgerows in the field to shelter our flower and vegetable gardens and orchard and provide new wildlife corridors that will link up with the existing hedgerows. In order to distract birds from eating our fruit crop we’ll plant small-berried bushes and climbers such as rowan and honeysuckle within the new hedgerows, which will act as a decoy and as an additional food source for birds. Both new and revitalised perimeter hedgerows will also attract wildlife from the hillside below. There is much more biodiversity a short distance down the hill, on both designated and undesignated sites. Our new planting will encourage birds, insects, plants, and mammals to inhabit our holding.

Hedgerow management We will allow all hedges to grow taller than their current height to provide masking of the field from public view and from local dwellings. We’ll allow some selected trees (some planted for the purpose) to grow to full height where buildings or structures on the field require further masking. All hedgerows will be traditionally managed on a seven year cycle. Trimming will only be done in Autumn and Winter to protect and encourage nesting birds. We will leave 1 metre wide field margins of vegetation to grow tall, to provide further shelter and food sources for animals. These areas are currently dominated by bracken, nettle, creeping buttercup and a variety of coarse grasses. In keeping with the creation of wild flower areas elsewhere on site we aim to introduce further plant species to the field margins (especially nectar-rich species) in order to increase

41

biodiversity there. Wild Flower and Hay Meadow We will create areas of wild flower meadow through the field as wildlife habitat, as pollinator strips and as borders along our orchard, coppice and woodland edges. They will be scythed yearly for hay in July. The hay will supply air-permeable cover for ripening compost in our aerobic composting system. Permaculture Orchard The orchard will be designed following the permaculture principle of layering. Rows of top fruit will be underplanted with soft fruit bushes and a variety of herbs will provide ground cover below. This method ensures maximum output from any given amount of land and greater variety and biodiversity than more traditional systems, thus lessening the danger of infections and pests spreading unchecked through the entire orchard. Our top fruit will include local heritage varieties of apples, pears, cherries, medlars, & plums. These will be interplanted with nitrogen fixing shrubs and ground cover (e.g. Oleaster, broom, and white clover) creating a self-sustaining cycle of nutrients. The soft fruit layer will include raspberry, gooseberry, red currant, blackcurrant, tayberries and Japanese wineberries. The herb layer will include sage, rosemary, mint, thyme, hyssop, comfrey, borage, fennel, calendula, nasturtiums and many more. The orchard will be mulched annually with home-made compost and with broad-leaf woodchip to activate mycorrhyzal fungi in the soil, which in turn improve the trees, ability to access and absorb nutrients. Our chickens will be able to free-range across the entire area, helping with pest control and their droppings will further enrich the soil. Short Rotation Coppice We will plant a mixed 1 acre coppice in close proximity to the South East corner of the field – primarily willow and hazel, with some poplar. The coppice will be managed in a five year rotation, providing a modest amount of young growth for craft materials in the first five years, then coming into full use for firewood, craft materials, and timber. Deciduous Woodland We will plant a 1 acre mixed deciduous woodland as a shelter belt and wildlife habitat. In the long term this will also provide some timber and firewood and an amenity area for us and visitors to the site. It will also enhance the visual aspect for the public and for local residents, extending the mature wooded landscape already established to the East beyond our development and at the same elevation. Ponds and Swales After recent heavy rains we observed very little puddling. This suggests we will need to line ponds (if possible, with clay) which will function as habitat for reptiles, amphibians, insects and birds. We envisage three:

• one in the low-lying South East corner of the field within the short rotation coppice; • a second above the woodland, bordered by willow and a variety of reeds which we’ll

harvest as mulch and biomass and for use in the aerobic composting process; • a third adjacent to the flower and vegetable gardens to encourage toads, frogs and other

predators of insect pests, slugs, and snails. Wherever appropriate we will use shallow swales between rows of orchard trees and coppice/woodland plantings both to conserve water and to prevent soil erosion.

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Vegetable Garden The 1/4 acre vegetable garden will be cultivated following the ‘no dig’ method. This means establishing permanent beds that will be mulched yearly with a thick layer of home-made compost. There is no need to dig, as first worms and then smaller organisms naturally incorporate this layer of organic matter into the soil, creating a well aerated structure, which is ideal for plant establishment and health. The vegetable garden will be located close to the dwelling house, following the old proverb: “The best fertiliser is the gardener’s shadow!” As our primary source of vegetables for our own consumption the garden will need careful monitoring and care. We intend to only use organic growing practices, which are more labour intensive than those involving synthetic chemicals but avoid harm to pollinators and other beneficial insects and animals.

These practices will include: Organic pest control consisting of manual removal of pests such as slugs and aphids, encouraging natural predators (birds, lacewings, ladybugs, ground beetles, toads and frogs) through appropriate habitat creation and overwintering sites. Early season application of compost teas to our crops will increase resilience against fungal infections. No-dig growing naturally results in fewer weeds, with the thick layer of compost ensuring that even persistent perennial weeds such as dandelion and creeping buttercup are gradually weakened because they’re starved of sunlight. Any weeding, when necessary, will be done by hand.

Cut Flower Growing Areas Our cut flower growing area will comprise a total of 1 ½ acres, divided into separate areas for annuals, perennials and foliage and flowering shrubs. All areas will be laid out as permanent ‘no-dig’ beds, divided by narrow paths covered with woodchip. Judging from our experience of growing cut flowers over the past six years, our organically managed flower plots have the potential to attract a wealth of insects. Over the years we have counted many species of hoverflies, bees, flies, beetles and butterflies. (Including, last year, a lovely specimen of the very rare Purple Emperor!)

As on our vegetable plot, we aim to foster soil health by regular applications of compost and mulches, to provide overwintering sites for insects by leaving spent plants in situ until the Spring and by choosing cut flower crops that provide nectar as well as ornamental beauty.

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Bees We will host colonies of honey bees housed in ‘bee friendly’ top bar hives (which we will build on site from local timber). Beginning with two hives, we will aim to have six to eight in total by the end of our fifth year. They will be distributed throughout the site. The bees will be significant pollinators throughout the surrounding area up to a two mile radius. Only honey and wax surplus to the needs of each colony will be harvested. This will be for domestic use plus limited sales of comb honey and wax products. Use of sugar feeds will be limited to emergencies only. Landscape, Neighbours and Sight Lines

We are very aware of the potential sensitivities of local residents and Gower organisations to new development. We are also committed to enhancing the extraordinary beauty of Gower through our land stewardship and horticultural production. We are aware of Gower’s designation as the first AONB in the UK and will give high priority and commitment to restoring and conserving Gower’s historical character and habitat within our holding, and thereby to contribute to Gower’s natural beauty. Complementary to the land management ethos described above, we will make our visual presence at Furzehill as benign and unobtrusive as possible:

1) All buildings (our dwelling, shed(s), water storage and aerobic composting facilities) will be designed and placed so as not to impinge on public site lines, and will blend with the environment by using appropriate natural materials

2) In addition, strategic planting of new hedgerows, standard trees, coppice and woodland will provide suitable masking.

3) While not a legal requirement, we will also apply 1) and 2) to minimise our visibility to neighbours whose properties overlook our holding.

Please see a drawing of our projected Plot 2 layout overleaf

(Drawing not to Scale)

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TRANSPORT AND TRAVEL ASSESSMENT & PLAN

Existing travel options in the area: -Footpaths: There are many footpaths nearby that link to neighbouring villages and hamlets (OS Explorer map 164) The site is a 15mins walk to both the nearest bus stops at Parkmill and Lunnon Turn. -Buses: The 118 bus connects Parkmill to Swansea and Rhossili. 8 buses per day, Monday – Saturday. This is the service that we will be using most frequently for trips to Swansea and beyond. The 119 runs from Swansea to Rhossili via Killay and the B4271. It stops once a day at Lunnon Turn. -Trains: Swansea train station (approx. 8.5 miles from the site) with frequent services to Cardiff, Bath, Swindon, Reading and London. Gowerton station (approx. 5.5miles from the site) for frequent trains to Carmarthen and stations to Milford Haven. -Private vehicle: We own a Citroen Berlingo van, 3 years old, with a total mileage of 19,300. This is our only vehicle, which we use almost exclusively for business purposes (see details below). Future projection Domestic travel pattern: We intend to travel by foot, bike and public transport for private (non-business) journeys. For shopping of food or other domestic items (those items we can’t grow or manufacture on site), we’ll combine shopping trips with business deliveries, in order to avoid many separate journeys.

Monthly shopping journeys: -2 return trips to Swansea, by car Visiting friends and family: -2 return trips to London per year, by train -2 return trips to Cardiff per year, by train -1 return trip to Switzerland per year, by train

Our estimated annual domestic mileage is 403 miles by car and 1288 miles by train.

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The estimated total number of domestic vehicle movements from the site is 48 per year, which represents very low vehicle use. Land based enterprise travel pattern: We intend to sell all our produce within 10 miles of our site. We will undertake carefully planned weekly deliveries, which will combine several drop-off points as part of the same journey. Occasionally, where there are one-off orders or where we can’t organise several drop-offs we’ll ask our customers to collect from us instead. Deliveries: -2 deliveries to local florists/shops per week, 30 weeks per year, average of 20 miles per trip, total 1200 miles per year -Other local deliveries of our produce (to hotels, restaurants, collection points), estimated 1000 miles per year Our estimated annual mileage for deliveries is 2200 miles. The total number of vehicle movements for deliveries is estimated to be 60 per year

Collection by customers: -Estimated 2 collections per month. Here, the mileage is difficult to give because we don’t know where our customers will travel from. However, we will only supply florists and private customers who are based within a 10 mile radius from our site. The total number of vehicle movements for collections is estimated to be 48 per year Deliveries of goods to our site: Especially during the first 5 years of establishing our holding we will receive occasional deliveries of goods to the site that are needed to build infrastructure (timber, roofing, water harvesting equipment etc.) and bulk deliveries of manure, compost and woodchip. We intend to only use suppliers who are based within a 25 mile radius of the site. These kinds of deliveries will become much more rare or will cease altogether once our holding is established and we are able to produce most of these supplies on site. For smaller items we will use Royal Mail deliveries whenever possible.

Volunteers: We intend to recruit a small pool of local volunteers to help with our land-based enterprise. We’ll actively encourage them to use public transport and to share cars whenever possible. We anticipate 2 volunteer visits per week, for 45 weeks of the year. We will only consider volunteers

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who live within a 10 mile radius of the site. Assuming direct journeys, for two volunteers living a maximum 10 miles from the site, this would result in 1800 miles/year (40 miles/week x 45 weeks). The total number of vehicle movements for volunteers is estimated to be a max of 180 (4x45, assuming the volunteers car share) and a min of 0 (assuming public transport is used) per year. Realistically we anticipate the total number of trips generated by volunteers will fall between the two, and as such have included a total of 95 vehicle movements from volunteers in our calculations. The impact of the ‘volunteer traffic’ will be mitigated by the fact that this will be an opportunity for our volunteers to learn about and become proficient at the many land-based activities we’re undertaking throughout the year, in fact their involvement will be akin to informal apprenticeships. Therefore enabling them to significantly reduce their own EF. We have done this successfully at our current site, where a long-term volunteer now feels sufficiently knowledgeable (after 4 years of part-time volunteering) to start her own ecological flower-growing enterprise. Private Visitors: We will encourage visitors to travel by public transport and/or to share vehicles wherever possible. We estimate that we will have about 10-15 visits per year (we have used a total of 13 for our overall calculations) from friends and family travelling from Wales and England.

The total number of vehicle movements from private visitors is estimated to be 26 per year. Total vehicle movements The total number of vehicle movements generated by the site, but excluding one off deliveries for infrastructure is therefore estimated to be 277 per year. This equates to less than 1 vehicle movement a day, significantly less than the average for a single family household, which is 10 vehicle movements per day.

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OUTLINE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Year 1

- Moveontothelandintemporarydwelling

- Begintoestablish1acreofcutflowergrowingarea

- Begintoestablish1/4acreof,nodig,vegetableareafordomesticfood

- Install4bayaerobiccompostingsystemfor2to3yearrotation(tohandlealldomesticandcommercial

compostablematerialsincludinghumanwaste)

- Install30mx8mpolytunnelfordomesticandcommercialproduce

- Installrainwaterharvestingstationsforflowerandvegetablegrowingareas

o Harvestviagutteringonbothsidesofthepolytunnel(60Mofguttering)

- Beginplantingfruittreesandbushesinorchardarea

- Beginplantingnewhedgerowsaroundorchardandflowerareas Year 2

- Commenceconstructionofdwelling–

o carbonneutralhouse

o RoundwoodWelshtimberframe

o Welshwoolinsulation

o foundations–hardcore-filledrecycledstackedtyressunkin3cu.meterholes

o Welshtimbercladding

o corrugatedroof

o wood-firedcookerwithhotwaterboiler

o woodframeddoubleglazing(reclaimedifpossible)

o latheandlimeplaster/Welshwoodinnercladding

o reclaimedwoodkitchenworksurfaces,shelvesandcupboards

o Setupbasicdomesticwatersupplyfromrainwatercollectionwithfiltration

! mainsconnectiononlyifrequiredbyplanningregulations

o Externalwastecollectiontoilet

- Continuetoestablishcutflowergrowingarea

- Continuetoestablishvegetablegrowingarea

- Continueplantingorchardarea,includingherblayer

- Continueplantinghedgerowstocreateshelteraroundorchardandcutflowerareas

- Installrainwaterirrigationsystemfororchardarea

- Installchickensinmoveable,tractor,andelectricfencesystem

- Install2beehives

- Beginplantingshortrotationcoppice

Year 3

- Continueinteriorfittinganddecoratingofdwelling

- Expandcutflowergrowingareato1.5acres

- Establishsunflowerareaforoilproduction

- Plantfurther¼acreofpermacultureorchard,includingherblayer

- Addfurther2beehives

- Expand/addmorecompostingbaysasneeded

- Continueplantinghedgerows

- Digfirstpond

- Beginplantingcomfreyandbiomassgrowingareas

- Continueplantingshortrotationcoppice

- Beginplantingwoodland Year 4

- Plantmoretopandsoftfruitandherbsinorchardarea

- Expandsunflowerplantingarea

- Buildsolardrierforlargervolumedryingoffruitandherbs

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- Digsecondpond

- Continueplantingcomfreyandbiomassgrowingareas

- Continueplantingwoodland

- Add2morebeehives

- Establishwildflowerareas

Year 5

- Continueplantingtopandsoftfruitandherbsinorchardarea

- Establishmorewildflowerareas

- Continueplantingwoodlandandhedges

- Digthirdpond

- Shortrotationcoppiceinfullproduction

- Allbusinessaspectsfullyestablished