Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why St.Francis Fields?












 

What better place to site the project, St.Francis Fields lends itself ideally to such a project being in the centre of our beautiful East Sussex village of Northiam with its bustling village life and well-attended clubs and societies, this together with the internationally renowned Great Dixter House and Gardens and the Kent and East Sussex Railway both of which already offer wonderful assets to our village.

St.Francis Fields is split into two 17 acre sites which are divided centrally by Beales Lane, the Project would potentially be housed in and around the right hand side site which was formerly the Blue Cross Animal Welfare Centre, this has a wonderfully secluded aspect central to the village, with far-reaching views to the East over the Rother Valley, and St.Mary's Church towards the south.

The site has an abundance of mature trees and hedgerows with which to frame the project, creating the perfect setting with which to "nestle" our re-established English village, and together with the supplementary planting of native trees and hedgerows will allow the project to slowly integrate, mature, and mellow within its beautiful landscape and surroundings.

2. How would the project protect the site against future development?

Local authority allocation and development plans will always be searching for desirable sites within villages to provide housing, and Northiam is playing its part going some way to fulfilling these quotas handed down by central government.

The worry is that because of St.Francis Fields central location to the village and however well managed it might be, it will inevitably be subject to future property speculation either by future "well meaning" parish councils, enforced district council decisions, or indeed by private speculators......property dealings however well intentioned have the ability to bring out the very worst in people.

So by creating a genuinely community led country project encompassing the whole site, together with strong covenants put in place to protect both the land and the properties within, ( because once the project is fully established it would have greatly increased in value, which will not go unnoticed by some parties) we can safeguard the whole project site at St.Francis Fields for future generations to enjoy and look after.

3. It sounds like a Museum what makes it different?

There are many organisations across Britain that share the same values and principles of this Proposal, for example:

• The Museum of English Rural Life  -  Reading.
• The Chiltern Open Air Museum       -   Chalfont St. Giles Buckinghamshire.
• The Weald and Downland Open Air Museum  -  Singleton West Sussex.
• Kent Open Life Museum  -  Maidstone Kent.

These wonderful places are invaluable sources of inspiration and information, they have saved and preserved buildings that were at risk of being lost to the nation forever.

In addition to this, traditional building and farming methods are being kept alive through practical demonstrations and exhibitions, showcasing the labour-intensive side of the past.

But it also gives us a glimpse into the dedication and intense skill needed to produce the straight furrow, the symmetrical eyebrow thatched over a dormer window, or the time taken to convert a green oak tree trunk into a four-sided jowled principal post for a Manor house.

But in the evening the visitors go home, the gates are shut, and the doors are locked......where as in the Lost England Project the cottages around the site will be lived in, both by village residents and the wider general public which will breathe life into the Historic nature of the buildings all of which will be carefully sited within the peaceful tranquil setting.

4. I am concerned about the increased traffic the Project will bring to the village.

Any potential community based development at St.Francis Fields would invariably raise questions about parking and increased traffic flow through the village, purely due to its central location.

One of the attributes of the Lost England Project that really helps deal with this particular question is the fact that it has to exist as a small project in order to remain successful, an English village of the 1870's would not be swarming with visitors, but it does need to be accessible to all.

So the public car parking area has intentionally been designed with only 27 spaces to keep visitor numbers to a minimum.

The design of the project primarily advocates the use of a managed one-way traffic flow system, which utilises the existing entrance on Main Street, and then after servicing the site it finally exits onto Beales lane, (approximately 100 yards down from Main Street). This dramatically reduces the density of traffic using the Main Street entrance, while at the same time totally eliminating the dangers involved in exiting this particular access due to obstructed vision to both the north and south.

This ensures that the traffic exiting onto Beales Lane would be kept to a trickle, not only during the working week but also at weekends. 

As a result of early correspondence between the Project and East Sussex Highways, with regard to exploring the possibility of using the Beales Lane exit for the project this encouraging pre-application advice has now been received:

ESCC quote;

With regards to the use of Beales Lane as an alternate access, as the carriageway width of the lane is for the most part sufficient to accommodate two-way traffic and the visibility at the junction with the main road is relatively unobstructed, it could potentially provide an improved route into the site. However, this would depend on whether a suitable access into the site with sufficient width and radii could be provided off Beales Lane within the constraints of the land within the applicant’s control. It is also acknowledged that accessing the site via Beales Lane would require a new more convoluted route through the site and this would impact on the land which currently forms part of the equestrian use. With this in mind the pros and cons of taking this forward would require further investigation”.

Further measures that the project would put in place to regulate traffic using the site would include:

• A man-managed one-way traffic flow system through the site
• All visitors to the site ( from 9 am-5 am) need to book a parking space in the public car park in advance of their journey to the project. The public would be made aware of the need to book via the project's website and additional advertising literature
• Option to charge a minimal fee upon booking to help cover parking costs
• From 5 pm onwards the public car park would be available for patrons of the Pub sited within the project
• The staff of the Pub would be responsible for locking the public car park at 11 pm ready for the next day's visitors

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    After the initial early draft of the proposal was finished and circulated to a small number of Village residents for feedback, this became one of the most searching questions.

To start with it may help to get a sense of perspective around the site.

From the existing Oasthouse in the main courtyard to the furthest point of the site near the Wildings entrance, it is approximately 450 yards, roughly the distance from the Playing Fields to the Spar shop.

                                                                                                                                                                                              With regards to the 12 affordable rental cottages for Northiam/connected residents, the distance from their car parking area to the furthest cottage is approximately 100 yards which is roughly the distance from the Playing Fields to the Parish Office, so the distances don't seem as great as first imagined.

However, to greatly assist the movement of goods around the site, the Sussex barn has been designed to be the main hub for goods coming into the site, these would include;

• Home shopping deliveries for the weekly shop, eg Waitrose or Tesco
• Housekeeping deliveries for the Rest and Relaxation cottages, eg linen changeovers, toiletries
• Pub supplies, eg Barrels, crates, and fresh ingredients
• Shop and Tearoom supplies and fresh ingredients  

The barn would be equipped with fridge and freezer units within the storage areas.

All these supplies would then be distributed around the site by horse-drawn transport to the various cottages and businesses at a mutually convenient time for both parties, which is not only a practical solution but maintains a wonderfully interesting visual element throughout the Project as well. It's no coincidence that the cart shed has been designed next to the Sussex barn complete with a turning circle, and the Heavy horses are stabled just around the corner.

The refuse and recycling collections would be handled in much the same way, with each property having black and green metal dustbins with clip-down lids collected once or twice a week and then taken to the refuse and recycling barn where the bags would be put into one of six, 20 bag capacity wheeled bins ready for collection by a waste management contractor.

The frequency of these collections around the Project will be dependent upon the type of property, for example, the Rest and Relaxation cottages and the businesses around the site will quite possibly need a higher frequency of collection.

 6. What is the Intention for the Fields in and around the Project?

Although we are fortunate enough to live in this particularly lovely part of East Sussex, how many of us really understand all the elements and work that is necessary throughout the farming year to manage our surrounding countryside?

Because obviously, most of us don't have access to the fields in order to gain the knowledge.

So along with the paddocks, grazing, and wildflower meadows on the site, the Proposal would also include a number of "Exhibition Fields".

These would be of manageable size and highlight the way we have chosen to plough, cultivate, and harvest the land over the last few hundred years, to produce oats, wheat, barley, flax, and hops etc.

These fields play an enormously key part in re-establishing the spirit of our Historic village. For example, the growing of long straw is much in decline at the moment causing a shortage of the material for Thatchers nationally, but particularly in Suffolk and Devon.

So if we could help support the re-introduction of these particular varieties ( Maris Widgeon / Huntsman etc ) it would perfectly represent what would have been commonly grown at the time, and illustrate the method by which it was grown and harvested e.g soil preparation by heavy horses, harvested by scythe or reaper binders, sheaves stacked in stooks to dry in the fields, stored in a barn or thatched rick and then threshed probably just before winter, producing our own long straw for thatching and wheat for our own flour to be sold in the shop.

This would be made possible by linking up with local farmers, agricultural colleges, historical societies, steam enthusiasts, etc to enable these fields to earn their keep, and by keeping the village informed via the Projects website, Parish magazine, and notices in the Medieval Sussex cottage reception area, it would give everyone the chance to help by  "dipping in and out " as much or as little as they like in order to participate and understand the farming year.

In addition to the Exhibition Fields, there would also be various areas around the Project that could be used for village events, i.e  Summer evening musical concerts, and performances, and village society shows and exhibitions.   

7.   You'll never get Planning Permission Because it's in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Conservation Area.

It's precisely because St.Francis Fields is in an area of outstanding natural beauty and a conservation area that would make the Project work.

It's a country Project, a village Project, a community Project and because of its unique nature, it has the ability to be a site of " National Historic Significance " and importance.

Just  as farmers up and down the country have had to find imaginative ways to diversify in order to generate supplementary incomes from the land, in the purchase of St.Francis Fields we as a village have essentially become collective landowners, and as such the Lost England Project would provide a  wonderful opportunity for diversification while retaining its farming Heritage and natural beauty.

Additionally, if the Proposal were to be adopted by Northiam Parish Council on behalf of the village, it would become a genuine community-led Project firmly rooted in providing benefits for the whole village in Leisure, recreation, and affordable low-cost rental housing, therefore, becoming a more favourable proposition in respect of planning and funding.

The "Funding and Planning" section in the dropdown menu highlights two invaluable passages, one from the National Planning Policy Framework 2020, and one from Natural England, which contain supporting statements with regards to "Rural Exception Sites" and people's engagement with the natural environment, both of which assist in the planning process.

One of the main advantages in the design of the Project, with regard to the need in the village for affordable rental properties, is to include and weave these affordable rental cottages into the fabric of the Project. Thereby challenging the well trodden path of providing these properties via "infill" or a small "close", which fulfills one particular need but then has no further benefit to the village.

Within this proposal, these properties would make up part of the key architectural element and also bring character to the village, both in the cottages themselves and the tenants who chose to rent them.

There is a small parcel of land to the south west of the project site which encompasses cottages 4-8 on the site plan and the exhibition field below them, this falls within Northiam's development boundary and has a quite high possibility of being developed in the near future, so by providing an exhibition field here it preserves one of the last few green spaces left on this side of Main Street for some distance in either direction.

Furthermore, the proposal has been designed in such a way as to require no access road through this particular parcel of land or indeed through Highfields Place, the access would come from within the site. Therefore the existing Laurel hedging which forms the boundary between Main Street and St.Francis Fields could remain in place.

8. How Much Income Would Be Derived From The Project?

All the projections at this stage are based on a site that is fully up and running and operational, the main source of income undoubtedly comes from the rental of the cottages around the site.

Firstly, the forecast for the cottages let to village residents quite reasonably assumes a 100% occupancy rate at an average affordable rental of £800 PCM per property, this is in line with the current charges for the existing two bedroom bungalow on the site. 

Secondly, with regards to the income derived from the cottages for rental to the wider general public, a comparison was drawn from the equivalent size properties rented out by the landmark trust. This gives us a conservative average income of £1000 per week, per property and assumes an occupancy rate of 60% throughout the year allowing for seasonal fluctuations.

This gives an anticipated conservative annual rental turnover of £458,400 for this group of properties.

Another income stream in addition to that above would come from the commercial enterprises located within the Project, the Pub, shop, and tearoom, these too would all have accommodation.

As the Proposal is very much in its infancy, and incomes from these businesses are notoriously hard to predict, coupled with any additional activity income from around the site, e.g horse riding tuition and farm produce, no allowance has been made to include these in the turnover calculations at this stage.

How these businesses would be managed is subject to further debate, but whether they are run as a "community collective" or leased out to a third party they would all be attractive assets to the village providing several more robust sources of income.

If and when the project starts to gain traction a more detailed estimation of these incomes could be arrived at. But as we can see already the annual projected turnover is heading for in excess of £500,000.

9. How much is the Project expected to cost?

Down to the essential question then.... how much?

My "go-to" point of reference with regard to funding and subsequent cost comparisons has always been the Eden Project, close to St.Austell in Cornwall.

The Lost England Project very much echoes the ethos of Sir Tim Smit's creation as a Project with both a charitable status and a social enterprise initiative, but it also gives us valuable pointers as to how to achieve suitable sources of funding.

The build was funded through a series of government grants and loans from institutions like the Millennium Commission, contributing £37.5 million through Lottery funding, and £50 million between the EU and the Local Regional Development Agency. This together with donations, further loans, and funds generated by Eden itself and then reinvested back into the Project all contributed to a final build cost of £140 million.

The major plus in the right-hand column of the ledger is the fact that the village already owns the land at St.Francis Fields which obviously helps reduce the overall cost of establishing the Project.

The majority of the expenditure on the Project will be for the 24 main dwellings on the site. An estimated average build cost of £450 - £500,000 per property has been allowed, some properties are quite modest and will require less expenditure, and some will be of larger proportions and be more involved and complicated to construct..

So we, therefore, arrive at a figure of between  £11 - 12 million for these 24 dwellings.

Due to the sensitive nature of the site, it will clearly require specialist advice, knowledge, and implementation at all stages and covering all aspects of the Project including planning, services, architecture, landscaping, and the all too easy to forget essential setting up and furnishing of the site prior to opening.

The specialty will cost money!

Therefore, we can expect an educated estimate of the final build costs to be around 10 - 15% of the final build cost of the Eden Project.