It's the end of an era at Horseshoe Farm as the farm shop, which was established 27 years ago, is set to close on Wednesday 25th July.
The closure follows planning permission being granted to Huntsmere to change the use of the farm shop and shed to a showroom and office.
The Alderley Edge based property firm is in the process of purchasing half of the land at Horseshoe Farm where they also have permission to convert the barn into an office/showroom and the existing office/store will be kept for this use.
Both will be fully re-clad with new windows and fitted out to enable Huntsmere to relocate their business to the site, from Armstrong Farm on Macclesfield Road.
Chris Oakes said "We secured consent last week. We will be completing the purchase in 5 weeks and immediately starting work on-site. We will be delivering approximately 10,000 square foot of offices, storage and showroom facilities, which we intend to be the long term home of the company."
The work will be carried out in phases and is expected to be completed by Summer 2013.
Chris added "Our acquisition does not include the building currently being used as the cafe, or the field that fronts onto London Road."
Stewart and Jean Pickering took over the running of the shop at Horseshoe Farm in November 2011. They had hoped to continue to operate the business somewhere on the site but last week Stewart told alderleyedge.com this had not been possible.
He said "There was no way we could stay as the company managing the sale of the rest of the site are understandably wanting to maximise the return for both the bank and Andy Morrison. There are various proposals for the rest of the site and at the moment they cannot allocate space for us.
"We have no alternative but to close the shop which is very very sad. We seriously loved running it and had plans to expand the range."
The farm and shop had been offered for sale for about 18 months. In November 2011 owner Andy Morrison, trading as Horseshoe Farm Produce, went bankrupt. In December 2011 a new company, operating as Horseshoe Farm (Alderley Edge) Ltd was registered with his son Robert Morrison as the director.
In April, Andy Morrison told alderleyedge.com "What we intend to do is partly in the hands of the trustees of the bankruptcy estate. Whilst the farm shop will change to a showroom the intention is for the house to accommodate the Horseshoe Farm shop.
"I would have liked to have sold Horseshoe Farm as a going concern but hopefully this planning application will be passed and we will still see the farm continue."
Horseshoe Farm was shortlisted for the 2009 Cheshire Life Food and Wine Awards, having been nominated as a ' Food Hero' - whose produce was considered second to none.
At the moment we are unclear about what is happening with the other half of Horseshoe Farm, i.e. the field at the front and the house, which Huntsmere is not purchasing. We will keep our readers informed as more information becomes available about its future.
Photo: (l-r) Stewart, Jean, Sadie, Andy, Simon and Suzie.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Horseshoe Farm was a place where you could be sure of buying excellent produce.Maybe the farm will re-introduce itself but in the meantime,if you want good meat,may I recommend the Alderley Village Butcher which is equally top quality!
A big thank you to Andy for helping at least two lads on the road to a farming career (Liam & Ryan)
It is also worth noting that the cafe at Horseshoe Farm will continue to operate, for the time being at least, unless business deteriorates, due to the loss of the farm shop.
The Prices are fair, quality is excellent and Martin's merry men are superstars. !
Walk into the village.
Simples !!!