SAVE HARE HATCH SHEEPLANDS

The council should be grateful the land is being used for the pleasure of the community

Hare Hatch Sheeplands offers more varied and alternative supplies to other businesses in the area at mostly reasonable prices. Staff are committed to their jobs and without exception prove very helpful to customers - a dying trait elsewhere unfortunately.

Just like my husband Peter I am disgusted by the vindictive, mealy-mouthed attitude of Wokingham B.C. and, like many that we've spoken to on this subject, believe that the only party that will benefit from a negative result for Hare Hatch is Wyevales. The same Wyevales that can't abide any competition and will go to all sorts of lengths to crush it. This whole affair is a disgrace.

THE LOSS OF SHEEPLANDS WOULD BE A DISASTER FOR MANY LOCAL ORGANISATIONS.
I WOULD IN PARTICULAR MENTION THE THAMES VALLEY ORCHID SOCIETY WHO HAVE BENEFITED MANY TIMES IN THE PAST FROM THE GENEROUS AND FREE HELP FROM SHEEPLANDS FOR THEIR ANNUAL EXHIBITIONS.

surely a compromise IS possible. If they have breached regulations there should be a process whereby trading can continue with some changes where necessary .

Hare Hatch Sheeplands is a great asset to Twyford and a prime example of a LOCAL business focused on its community, I fully support this petition to save HHS. The local character of the business, the openness to small independent retailers, the job creation for young people, the continued support to varied charities, the excellent farm shop, all add a huge value that some of the large national retailers would do well to consider. I acknowledge the pressure on greenbelt land however the site was previously derelict, it wasn't rolling fields and hedges, and retains at heart its focus on nursery and countryside management - the excellent farm field opened last summer is a good example. I expect greenbelt pressure in any case to continue growing (all demographic trends point towards this) and would much prefer seeing the land retained for its present purpose than to disappear in a few years under developers' bulldozers for yet another soulless block of identical housing. While I have no evidence on this I do wonder if there is an underlying plan in this direction - with a future application pointing the nursery presence as the justification for further change of use. Whereas instead, with the strong support of the community as underlined by this petition, HHS can carry on and in fact thrive once the shadow of the WBC enforcement notice finally lifts.

sheeplands is a friendly family busness that it is a pleasure to go to shop with them. Long may they remain.

it would be a terrible shame to cause this facility to close,it has been a wonderful addition to the area.

This is a very valuable local business employing local people bringing much needed money into the community.
I can't believe anybody would want to see it close

SAVE HARE HATCH SHEEPLANDS Ref: Enforcement Notice APP/X0360/C/13/2206131

Is WBC possibly being swayed by the competition across the A4 I wonder ??, either way it seems pretty poor form in these days of austerity that a business should be forced to close due to bureaucratic reasons. Must be about 100 jobs at risk, maybe WBC has a spare kitty for people that will be unemployed by this action ?

We have been going to hare hatch for a number of years it has benn good rehabilatitive therapy for my daughter who has had uncontrolled diabetes and has needed a healthy place to eat and a calming place to walk. I love gardening and have found it therapeutic myself to do gardening and have made with the help of hare hatch staff a Buddhist garden. It would be a shame to shut this place as no place exists in the area to rival it. As my daughter gets better she helps me in the garden and I still have help of hare hatch staff.

How can one vote for members of a council who co-operate in wasting public money hounding a local employer who is running a pleasant and popular business which over 900 people to date (Jan 2014) have petitioned on behalf of? It is somewhere for parents to take babies and children and for sons and daughters to take very elderly parents - and all ages in between. It smacks of a council who have backed themselves up against a wall and can't think how to escape without losing face. Wokingham Borough Constituents within reach of Hare Hatch Sheeplands have sent a clear message to the Council - lay off.

Please work with this independent business to ensure that it survives and thrives in the LOCAL community. The monstrosity on the other side of the A4 road is all the reasons why this company should survive.

This is a brilliant and thriving business, offering something different. It is interesting that Wokingham Borough Council are not so worried about land being used for mass housing in our area. Good luck to the Harehatch team, you deserve to succeed.

#114: -

Hi, what do you mean by the American bit?

Can't understand why the local council want to close Harehatch. It's great! Someone on a backhander from Wyevale?

I am in support of Sheeplands.
It is our weekly outing and farm shop ,cafe and
all our horticural needs are here.

It would be an injustice if Hare Hatch Sheeplands were forced to close ,after so many years providing their customers with both a friendly and knowledgeable service .

Ridiculous treatment of a valuable and respectable business. Down with bureaucratic nonsense! Save HHS!

I am a regular visitor to hare hatch sheep lands & enjoy browsing in a pleasant atmosphere with friendlly and helpful staff. How on gods earth can the council justify spending what must be millions developing a further traveller site on green belt with nice new fences etc which we all know will bring its trials & tribulations & dare to take away your thriving business and staff . It's dispicable!!xx

The treatment given to this firm is sheer victimisation. let them get on with running this most useful enterprise.

What I really don't understand is why Wyevale just across the road seems to be allowed to do whatever it likes, it has exactly the same facilities that HHS wants to provide but Wyevale is allowed but HHS is not. HHS has to be allowed to compete with the big guys and can only do this by having siliar facilites, WBC seem to be determined to have one rule for one and another for the rest.

I used to live near Sheeplands and shopped there happily many times, but I don’t agree with everyone else here and think it ok for them to ride roughshod over the planning process (and btw I have no affiliation with the council). The greenbelt is rightly protected, HHS are clearly in the wrong here and you can't have one rule for one and one for another. If we let this happen what is to stop Tesco or the like doing the same on more greenbelt land further down the road. Why haven't HHS sought an alternative site on which they would be allowed to trade and would mean that the people, that they have wrongly employed to jobs they are not permitted to do, don't lose their jobs? Is it because green belt land is a lot cheaper maybe?