Trust denies claims of bullying over land deal

BROADCASTER LORD Bragg has accused the National Trust of bullying after it acquired a tranche of land in the Lake District that could threaten a farm which upholds an agricultural tradition thousands of years old.

The charity last month bought Thorneythwaite Farm in Borrowdale, near Keswick, which has a flock of 413 Herdwick sheep, a rare breed which the author Beatrix Potter once helped save from extinction.

But the trust did not buy the farmhouse and there are now concerns about what will happen to the sheep, which the charity owns. The Times said its actions had upset residents of Borrowdale and farmers who had hoped to buy the house and land and keep it running as a working farm.

Lord Bragg, a native of Cumbria, lambasted the trust’s actions, branding it a “disgraceful purchase” and a “nasty piece of work”, adding that its opening bid of £200,000 above the £750,000 guide price to put off other potential buyers was “straight out of the mafia”.

In a letter to the newspaper he accused the National Trust of behaving “very badly”, yet considering itself “beyond criticism”, and accused its director-general, Dame Helen Ghosh, of behaving “very dictatorially”.

A spokesman for the trust said it wanted the 303 acres of land for its value to wildlife, telling the newspaper: “We believe we can look after this land in a way that benefits nature, visitors and the local community.”