Plant nursery and tearoom fights for revival following National Trust dispute
Little Heath Farm, home to the business, was forced to close its doors last month after a 420-year existence
A beloved plant and tearoom business in Potten End, Hertfordshire, continues its fight against the National Trust over a financial dispute.
Little Heath Farm Nursery and Tearoom, a long-standing, family-run business, had to close its doors on April 1 this year after the National Trust imposed a fine of over £300,000 for potential future developments on the farmland, despite no plans ever being made at this end.
The closure has prompted significant public backlash, with over 5,000 signatures for an online petition calling for accountability and transparency from the conservation charity.
Little Heath Farm, a long-lasting local legacy
Little Heath Farm has existed for over 420 years.
The plant nursery was created in 1970 by its two current owners, who have since retired and moved to Wales, then ran by a dedicated couple, Jonathan and Vanessa, with the help of a group of volunteers.
The site, in a peaceful location adjacent National Trust Area of National Beauty land, consists of a historic farm with almost 3 acres of greenbelt land, farm buildings of which five were converted to cottages in the late 1980s, and a plant nursery on about 1.5 acres of the land.
Within the main farm building was a popular tearoom, working in collaboration with other businesses, including a cakemaker.
For many years, the nursery specialised in - and became known for - Alpine plant species, alongside thousands of other plant species grown on and sold on site.
Described as a haven by its visitors, the site quickly became well-known by locals as a peaceful environment full of flourishing biodiversity.
Common and regular visitors were butterflies, red kites and a barn owl.
What forced the business' closure?
The couple was ultimately forced out by what it described as unreasonable demands and extended delays over a historic access route to the property.
At the heart of the dispute was a strip of National Trust-owned land across which the farm had accessed its site for more than four centuries.
Manager of the site, Jonathan, explained: "Starting in 2019, we had a problem with the front access. We asked National Trust to sort it out in 2022.
"In March, they wrote us, saying that they would do a formal agreement where they accepted that the existing cottages, 5 of them, had a right of access and that they would do a separate agreement should we ever carry out further developments of the commercial buildings, the shops and the store.
"It wasn't until November 2023 that they started to prepare the agreement and then presented us with an agreement, a single agreement for both prospective future development and existing development, for which they asked for immediate payments of 335,000."
"we have also lost everything"
According to Jonathan, in reasoning with the payment demand, the National Trust cited potential future developments made to the site, despite the couple having no plan to do so, with no formal planning application made to the local authority.
From there followed a back and forth between Little Heath Farm's managers and the National Trust, resulting in a complete halt to internal works being done to the habitable cottages, and the immediate closure of both the plant nursery and tearoom businesses.
Meanwhile the owners of the business and its managers Jonathan and Vanessa had not only invested years of their lives to keeping it alive, but poured their own resources into the cottages renovation works already contracted and partly carried out.
Jonathan said: "We put in all our retirement money when there was a cash shortfall much earlier on, so we have worked here for six years just being paid expenses because we expected to get a share of money when the cottages were sold or after refurbishment.
"So we have also lost everything."
In response, a National Trust spokesperson said: "It is usual industry practice for a substantial change of land use, such as the development of multiple residential dwellings, to result in a fee.
"That fee was agreed and signed up to by all parties in the summer of 2024 following independent valuation and legal advice, but it would only apply if the site is developed.
"So far as the Trust is aware, planning permission has not been granted and so no fee is due.
"In the nine months since agreements were signed, we have never been made aware that the owners or their mortgage lender had any concerns about the access arrangement.
"As such we were very surprised to hear of the sudden closure of Little Heath Farm Nursery and Tearoom."
Upon closure, the couple were forced to up and leave, despite thousands of plants waiting to be sold and the sudden halt to collaboration with neighbouring small businesses.
In the last month, they have organised a number of sales, including on local markets.
You can find the online petition calling on the business to reopen its doors by following this link.