Trust’s plan for luxury lodges at nature reserve sends locals wild

A WILDLIFE trust given a 19-acre farm on condition it be preserved as a nature reserve has become embroiled in a planning row with locals who say proposed luxury lodges will be a magnet for “hen and stag” parties.

Tretawdy Farm and Nature Reserve, in Llangrove, near Ross-on-wye, was given to the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust (HWT) in the will of Eileen Cook, a widow who died in 2016 aged 98.

Cook, who had lived there since 1959, occupied one end of the farm, while her daughter, Pauline Thomas, 60, reportedly lived at the other end with her husband.

In 2010, Cook was granted legal permission to evict her relatives – to whom she had not spoken for nearly a decade.

In her will, she left the £400,000 site, which sits on the border of the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, to the HWT on condition it was maintained as a nature reserve.

But the charity has enraged locals by applying for planning permission to convert two former barns into luxury self-catering accommodation for up to eight people.

Residents fear the site will become a magnet for stag and hen parties, as Llangarron parish council, which also oppose the proposals, raised access, noise and traffic level concerns.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “By building lodges for up to eight people you will attract not just families but also larger groups. I genuinely think Mrs Cook would be turning in her grave if she thought her beautiful land was being used as some kind of entertainment venue.”

Christopher Thomas, another objector, added: “It was left to become a nature reserve and it is now being turned into a holiday let. Hen and stag parties will use it.”

Others complained of a lack of public consultation, claiming the proposals were not what Cook wanted for her former home.

Paul Lodge, who lives in nearby Llangrove, added: “Many in the local community are very disappointed that this application has been submitted without their knowledge or involvement.

“We also wish to raise concerns over the will of Eileen Cook, who left Tretawdy Farm to Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, which states that it must be maintained solely as a nature reserve. This we believe is being ignored by the existence of this application.”

Defending the plans, James Hitchcock, the trust’s estates manager, said it was a “fantastic opportunity” to secure a future for the dilapidated barns.

He explained: “We think it is a use that is sustainable and in keeping with the wishes of Eileen Cook. And it can bring a wider demographic into our site and expose them to the work of Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and the wonderful countryside that is on offer in the lower Wye valley.

“And as a local charity and business we would also like to play our part in building back Herefordshire and promoting green tourism,” Mr Hitchcock added.

The council is expected to consider the plans later this month.