Derbyshire flower farm owner's plea to council to lift employee condition

Laurenne Hopkins, who runs Happy Roots Farm on the Oxcroft Estate near Bolsover, applied for planning permission for change of use to mixed-use residential, market garden and small-holding with retail provision and workshop events.

Approval was granted by Bolsover District Council with a condition that only residents who lived at that address could work on the site, despite Laurenne stating on the application that the business employed part-time workers.

Now Laurenne is appealing for the condition to be lifted in a renewed application to the council. She says: “The farm has a rich history as a vegetable and flower farm dating back to the 1930s and has always been a vibrant part of the local community. Over the decades, it has employed numerous individuals in both seasonal and permanent capacities. Currently, in addition to myself and my partner Gareth (who also works as a computer programmer), we have three or four different people working for us. These individuals are not residents of the property, but rather work on a contractor or self-employed basis.

"The demand for their services is highly seasonal, with more work in the summer and less in the winter. The smallholding has always had seasonal workers picking veg/flowers in the summer since its creation in the 1930s as it would be a physically impossibility to manage a six-acre farm without help harvesting in the peak months.

“As such, the condition that only residents of the property may be employed and work at the farm significantly hinders our ability to operate and maintain the farm to its fullest potential.”

Laurenne, who sells her flowers from a stand at the farm, also does floristry for weddings and runs workshops on site. She told the Derbyshire Times: “If the condition is not lifted, it would severely limit what we would be able to do and what we could grow. I hope that the council will support a small, eco-friendly business.”

She spent £1,000 on her application for full planning permission after a complaint was made to the council over the erection of the stand during lockdown. Lauren said: “To say that someone put a complaint in, there were no public objections to our application.”

Melissa Rose of Stanfree Valley Preservation Group said in response to the original application: “We would like to show our support for Laurenne Hopkins at Happy Roots Farm to change of use to mixed-use residential market garden and smallholding with the erection of farm stand, preparation area and parking area. We walk the area regularly and have noted the hard work carried out by the holders of the farm and want them to succeed, setting an example for further small-scale projects locally.”

Laurenne and Gareth, who have four young children, bought the farm seven years ago from the family who had run it as a market garden since the 1930s. The couple fixed up some of the original buildings that were falling into disrepair, erected a barn and developed their business selling vegetables, fruit and flowers which they grew without pesticides, chemicals or artificial fertilisers. In 2021 they took over the Local Loop Clowne to continue a zero waste refill service.

For the past six months, the focus has mainly been on the floristry side of the business. Laurenne said: “It wasn’t commercially viable to grow vegetables on a small scale.”