An award-winning community farm and wellbeing centre which has been described in parliament as a “point of light” in supporting some of Northamptonshire’s most vulnerable individuals is under threat as the proposed cricket ground for Northamptonshire’s academy, women’s and disability sides appears to have been given approval.
The proposed site backs on to New Manor Farm in Moulton where Sol Haven, which hosts wellbeing projects, particularly for people who have experienced hardship, has been based for nearly a decade.
Sol Haven is co-founded by Sammuel Yisrael and Natasha Caton and provides sessions in rural skills, growing food, eco-therapy, meditation, nature-based arts and crafts, and cooking, which is led by Natasha, who is a Michelin-trained vegan chef.
Natasha experienced various addictions and homelessness at a young age, and partnered with Samuel, a long-time community volunteer with people who are disabled, have learning disabilities or are living homeless, to create a project that could help people grow and recover from adversity by connecting meaningfully with natural surroundings.
As well as being officially recognised by the then prime minister Boris Johnson, Sol Haven has collected a raft of awards for its work in supporting vulnerable people, including the Lush Spring Prize for social and environmental regeneration.
However, with plans for the new facility seemingly moving forwards, co-owner Natasha Caton said traffic and fans travelling to matches would disrupt the calm the farm provided and also potentially have a major impact on local residents.
“This came pretty much out of the blue to us. In fact, the first we knew about it was when someone mentioned it on Facebook,” explains Natasha.
“There will undoubtedly be an impact on the way we run things here as we are proudly seen as an oasis of calm, peace and tranquility for our users, many of whom are very vulnerable and have been signposted to us from local stakeholders from within the care sector.
“Also, this is far from an issue that is just going to potentially impact Sol Haven. There are environmental impacts in terms of flora, fauna and biodiversity and also the impact of noise and traffic. There appear to be plans for parking on the new site but it won’t take much of a leap to find the little roads around the area are soon full of cars.
“Right now we are processing what this all means whilst trying to focus on supporting our users but finding that balance is a battle all of its own.”
Co-owner Sammuel Yisrael adds: “These are worrying times as previous works have caused issues already with the building of a housing estate built on the field behind. It appears that a lot of waste from there was dumped on a piece of land that was earmarked for community use.
“This has caused flooding on to the farm fields and into Sol Haven and also made the school playing fields unuseable. This has a massive impact on the children in the neighborhood.
“We are concerned that any additional development could make this sorry situation worse and also promises for keeping community space will not be honoured as seen with this other building development. What is critical right now is a plan that engages with the local community and their needs.”
