Campaigners' petition to save historic Acton Scott farm
Campaigners are petitioning to save a popular tourist attraction which is "important" to village economy.
Acton Scott Historic Working Farm has been shut since the summer after an E.coli outbreak, and Shropshire Council is due to discuss whether to keep it open. Now locals are piling on the pressure for the authority to save it for future generations.
The farm closed on June 24 after after two cases of E.coli were confirmed. It has still not reopened.
A report is now being prepared by Shropshire Council to decide how much has to be done for it to comply with industry guidelines. It will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on January 19.
The working farm featured in the BBC television series Victorian Farm.
In a letter to the authority, Acton Scott residents said: "We call on the council to start full formal consultation on its possible closure before your meeting on January 19.
"We urge the council to make no decision on its future until the depth of public opinion is known and so facilitate public consultation for a period of 12 weeks, prior to any decision making within the council."
It comes after the Rare Breeds Survival Trust wrote to the council in support of the farm.
The charity's chief executive Christopher Price said: “Acton Scott is an important conservation centre, providing a home for some of the UK’s rarest native livestock breeds such as the Original Population Dairy Shorthorn. It provides a brilliant and unique resource for the public to see these breeds up close and understand their place in our heritage as well as their genetic and biodiversity importance today and for the future.
"It would be terrible to lose Acton Scott’s crucial contribution to the survival of our wonderful native breeds. I have written to Shropshire Council to voice our support for the farm in the strongest possible terms and to urge Shropshire Council to ensure that the farm remains safeguarded for the future.”
The farm is home to one of the largest herds of rare pedigree Gloucester Old Spot pigs within the trust’s approved network. The farm’s poultry collection includes a number of rare breeds in vital breeding programmes to help the breeds’ survival, and its flock of native Shropshire sheep is known across the United Kingdom.
Resident and B&B owner Chris Brandon said the farm "has attracted many people over the years" to the area, and is important to the local economy.
Shropshire Council has been contacted for a comment.
