Mrs Dowson's farm park seeks permission for range of attractions installed without consent
Mrs Dowson's farm park in Longsight Road, Blackburn, has made a retrospective application seeking planning consent for a number of works which have been undertaken over the last three years. These include a new outdoor play area and sandpit created to the west of the play barn and cafe, and new grazing pens created to the north and east of the site for a number of animal species, including deer, water buffalo and wallabies.
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Hide AdIn a statement to Ribble Valley Borough Council, the agent for Mrs Dowson's said the timber play area - originally built during lockdown to ensure visitors could spread out around the site whilst maintaining social distancing - has been retained due to its popularity with visitors. They add that the adjacent sandpit "is very popular with younger visitors" and that as visitor numbers have grown new animals have been added to the collection, requiring "large grazing paddocks to ensure they have adequate space to graze and exercise".
The statement adds: "The additions have been made in line with the other features of the farm park and surrounding farmland. The outdoor play facilities are enclosed with mature hedgerows so that they are not visible from outside the site. The additional animal paddocks are enclosed using traditional farm fencing materials to ensure they fit naturally within the landscape."
It that the additions “are all vital in enhancing the visitor experience” and that there is a wider impact for other local eating establishments and accommodation providers which are frequented by people after visiting the farm park. They also say that the number of employees is steadily growing with Mrs Dowson’s Farm being one of the largest rural employers in the Ribble Valley.
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Hide AdCurrently the farm, farm park and ice cream making enterprise employ 10 full time staff and 40 part time staff who work alongside Mr and Mrs Dowson. The diversified enterprises also offer employment for up 70 seasonal casual staff at varying times of the year. Across the various activities and attractions Hawkshaw Farm welcomed approximately 120,000 visitors to the site in 2023.
History of the farm
The Dowson family have been dairy farmers for generations, and the farm still produces milk to make icecream and to sell on. In the 1970s, they built their own dairy with a bottling plant and pasteurizing machine, and in 2001, ice cream making began when the family began experimenting with ice cream recipes, eventually creating a natural dairy ice cream using milk from their own cows and local ingredients.
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Hide AdFrom selling icecream at the farm, the family have expanded into a range of farm-based family activities and offers a variety of seasonal activities, including chick handling, tractor rides, and "Lambing Live". The farm also has a corn maze, and in 2022, they brought back a 3-acre Pendle Witch-shaped maze that was originally popular in 2009.
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