Around nine acres of land at West Pikefish Farm near Maidstone, Kent have been selected for a floodplain restoration scheme overseen by South East Rivers Trust as part of the Holistic Water for Horticulture initiative.
It is exploring how nature-based solutions can help towards climate adaptation and achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and hopes methods developed at West Pikefish Farm, as part of creating a diversified and more resilient business, can be replicated at scale elsewhere.
NFU National Water Resources Specialist Mark Betson said: “There is water stress within the South East and it’s only going to get worse. Some businesses are vulnerable, and we need to build in resilience. Farmers need more control over their own water, including more on-farm storage.”
The land at West Pikefish Farm previously produced Discovery and Howgate Wonder apples, including the then heaviest apple in the world, weighing almost 1.7kg, in 1997. It was grubbed out in 2018 so has had several years of natural regeneration ahead of this project.
Fifth-generation grower Bek Bibby said: “We were coming out of top fruit and looking for ways to pivot the business. There were areas of land where orchards had been grubbed out, and we wondered what to do with them.”
After a meeting with South East Rivers Trust to look at options, Water Resilience Specialist Sam Hughes was instrumental in taking the project forward.
Bek said: “It’s been wonderful to work with South East Rivers Trust and everyone else. It’s all about collaboration, working with as many partners as possible.”
The vision for West Pikefish encompasses promoting best practice in land use, carbon sequestration, replenishing water and the possibility of long-term funding through Biodiversity Net Gain, as well as from ELMs.
The aim is to create wetlands and to replant traditional orchards. Work so far has included breaking up the original drainage and digging trial pits and scrapes to see how the natural water level will fall.
As well as improving biodiversity, the project hopes to improve water quality in the River Tiese and to hold back flood waters in an area that is prone to extensive flooding.
A lagoon will be created to hold up to 4,000 cubic metres of water for irrigation. This would replace the current summer abstraction licence for water from the Tiese.
Sam said: “There is a very old channel going through here and some deeper lying areas that would have been wetted up. It’s about bringing that back, about how the land would have looked if it hadn’t been drained and cut off from the river.”
Bek said: “This is a long-term plan. It won’t happen quickly but we have history on the site and we are used to the long term. This has served its time as a conventional orchard. Now it’s time for something different. It could offer so many benefits.”
““There is water stress within the South East and it’s only going to get worse.
“Some businesses are vulnerable, and we need to build in resilience.”
NFU Water Resources Specialist Mark Betson
West Pikefish Farm is one of two farms within the family business, which also includes Loddington Farm overseen by Bek’s brother James Smith. Loddington has changed as well, moving away from supermarkets to multiple income streams.
Crops grown there include apricots, cherries and asparagus, as well as top fruit, and there is a farm shop that stocks apple juice pressed from the farm’s fruit.
Alongside the Holistic Water for Horticulture scheme, Bek and her sister Catharine, a special needs teacher, have set up the Patch at West Pikefish Farm, offering work experience for young people with learning difficulties, covering horticulture and animal care.
Bek is enthusiastic about the changes taking place there.
“We’re talking about woodlands, meadows, ponds and traditional orchards. It’s like the Darling Buds of May, and if you can then lock that into a biodiversity net gain covenant for 30 years, I can’t think of anything better,” she said.
“Catharine will be offering education through the Patch as well, and that’s something that’s really important to us.”