The farmers who took a disused BHS and planted the seeds of a High Street revolution

How a pioneering market offering great British food aims to change the way we all shop and eat

WITH a snip of red ribbon, Countryfile presenter Adam Henson ushered in what promises to be a retail revolution for British farmers and their produce. The pioneering scheme arrived like a burst of sunshine amid the rain in the rather sleepy Oxfordshire town of Banbury on Saturday, catching some early morning shoppers on the hop.

What had been an abandoned BHS department store in an unloved corner of the town’s Castle Quay mall has been transformed into Lock 29, a trendily refurbished shopping experience with the feel of a country market.

Instead of endless racks of cut- price clothes, excited consumers browsed among a host of small shops offering the harvest of tireless work by local farmers – meat, fish, beer, cider, damsons, plums and a whole lot more.

With the High Street facing a slump, and some well- known brands going bust, Banbury’s pioneering experiment could herald a new era for empty town centre properties as they are turned into modern farmers’ markets.

Its organisers certainly hope their example will be followed in other towns and cities across the country.

Pie lady Alison Mellors and her team put on a magnificent display of traditional English pies from her Nottinghamshirebased company, The Country Victualler. Laden with a tray of tempting steak and ale pies, managing director Alison rolled up her sleeves to get in on the action on the opening day and was rushed off her feet by demand.

“Even before they cut the ribbon there was a queue forming at our shop which just shows you what people want – good old traditional British pies,” she beamed.

Unlike some supermarket pies, hers look full- bodied, big and beefy with thick golden pastry encasing locally- produced meats. In huge demand was her signature Alderton ham, gloriously tasty, especially when glazed with honey and cloves. “We’re the sole producer of Alderton ham,” said Alison. “Each ham is cured and cooked in a different way to ensure a unique taste.”

HIGH quality pork is sourced from a farm just a few miles from her HQ and she pays regular visits to see the pigs rooting and wallowing outdoors. The pork has a good layer of fat, giving it a succulence and flavour that helps make it so popular.

“Lock 29 is a brilliant place to showcase British produce and I just hope other towns pick up the idea,” she said.

Adam Henson, who runs Cotswold Farm Park near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire when not filming the BBC series, liked the look of Alison’s offerings and was keen to lend support.

His friend and fellow Gloucestershire cattle farmer Matthew Rymer came up with the idea of promoting British farmers under the brand name of Happerley England, which is loosely based on the village where Matthew farms, Apperley. Explaining the thinking behind the idea, Adam said:

“It’s a farmer’s initiative started by Matthew and it’s all about food provenance and traceability.

“In the food chain there are some mistruths. People are putting labels on meats, jams and juices that may not be the absolute truth. What is in the jar, the packet or bottle might not be what it says it is.

“You might go to a restaurant or pub in Gloucestershire and it says on the board

Gloucestershire sausage hotpot but the ingredients are not from the county. Or it might be a jam- maker who says they use home- grown strawberries but actually the jam juice may be from China.

“So what Matthew and others want to do is bring transparency into the supply chain so that those who are doing the right thing, being honest and trustworthy, are declaring their supply chain, and selling at the right and fair price without competition undercutting them.

“The whole idea of Happerley England here at Banbury’s Lock 29 is to showcase all those amazing producers who are totally open and transparent about their supply chain.”

Adam feels passionately that after the Covid- 19 lockdown, consumers are much more concerned about how food gets from the field to dining tables. Not all those selling under the Happerley brand source local products but they go out of their way to know exactly where the produce is coming from.

“People are selling coffee here but they know exactly where the coffee beans are coming from so consumers can trust the supply chain,” he explained.

But when it comes to buying meat, Adam says that it’s time to talk up the much better farming methods used in Britain.

“What we must not do is buy food from abroad which has lower standards than our own,” he insists. “So hormone- treated beef and chlorinated chicken, I’m completely against it, absolutely. It would be illegal to farm like that here, so why should they be allowed to sell it? It’s a bit bizarre.

“I can see the reason you would want to buy it is because it is cheap. A large percentage of society are tempted by bargains and a

‘ Banbury’s pioneering experiement could herald a new era for empty town centre properties’