Inspirational ideas: Farming in the Steel City

Sheffield, the UK's fifth largest city in terms of population, is known as the “Steel City”. Up until the mid-20^th century, mining (iron, coal), steel production, and making cutlery in particular, were its main economic activities. This industrial identity is still visible today as many of the steelworks have been innovatively renovated for other purposes. So it is rather surprising when you walk through a residential part of the city, down a street lined with red brick houses and you find at the end a real, working ‘urban farm’. Heeley City Farm was set up on a derelict piece of land which was initially cleared of buildings for a bypass. Since it was set up in 1981, the Farm has diversified its activities and now has three main functions: producing and marketing food, running an educational facility and acting as a community resource.

Finding a use for urban wasteland

In 1981, when the local council’s plans to build a road bypass just south of Sheffield city centre were defeated by protests, the area of abandoned land was left in the hands of the local residents. At the time, the local Tenants and Residents Association decided to transform the urban wasteland into a farm which would take account of the urban environment and local needs.

They began with one goat and £20 in the bank, but over the past 30 years, Heeley City Farm has diversified into a multifunctional enterprise. Heeley City Farm is a registered charity and limited company and they have renovated several derelict sites across Sheffield for cultivation.

Producing and marketing food

The farm produces and markets food using organic, sustainable methods. As they are a charity, any profits go towards community projects. The Farm has been awarded Rare Breeds Farm Park status and works to maintain native farm animal species in decline, for example the Soay sheep. The meat that the Farm produces is sold to local residents as well as to restaurants and pubs in the city centre, in fact they’ve got a deal with one of them which will take anything they can’t sell, so nothing goes to waste! The Farm also produces a range of vegetables and fruit as well as eggs and honey. The products are used in the Farm’s on-site café and sold directly from the different sites, on farmers’ markets in the area and to a local organisation which runs a vegetable box scheme. Heeley City Farm also has a garden centre which sells peat-free products produced on the Farm: flowers, hanging baskets, plants, manure and compost. At Christmas time you can even hire a Christmas tree!

An educational facility

The Farm has also diversified its activities into education and training. They run many innovative training courses for adults with learning difficulties and disabilities and young people and school groups from across Sheffield: growing for beginners, organic growing master classes, seed swaps, repair cafés, DIY courses and much more. The Farm has an energy centre, a renovated pikelet (local type of pancake) factory, with solar panels, a wind turbine, an energy bike and a visitors’ centre downstairs where many groups are invited to learn about renewable energy. This centre is used in particular for their projects on community health, fuel poverty, affordable warmth and older people in isolation. The Farm’s day to day activities are also used as an educational resource. People gain hands-on experience in animal care and plant growing, and learn about urban farming and sustainability.

A community resource

From the very beginning, one of the objectives was to transform the abandoned land into something useful for the community. When you visit the Farm on a sunny afternoon, it is a hive of activity. The Farm and its café are open to visitors and it’s a popular choice for people in the area. Employment has also always been an important issue. At the beginning of the 80s when the farm was set up, Sheffield’s mines were closing and this meant many people were out of work. So some of the first farm employees were former steel workers and miners. Today they have a staff of 46 people across the different sites but this increases regularly depending on the different projects. They also run a project on mental health where people with mental health needs are invited to carry out various activities on the farm as part of their support. Many other initiatives have been set up in connection to the local community and rely on local activity to function.

Heeley City Farm’s income to pay their staff and keep the farm running comes a third from grants (local, national, public and private), a third from contracts (for youth training, food growing and health projects) and a third is self-generated (selling of produce, café, garden centre, placements including vulnerable adults). They also receive a small amount of donations.

Sharing knowledge

This type of urban farm can help generate interest in and support for agriculture. Heeley City Farm believes in sharing knowledge and encouraging other similar initiatives to be set up locally and further afield. The staff of Heeley City Farm provides consultancy and support to other urban farms in Sheffield. The charity is currently involved in an international exchange project (Leonardo Grundtvig) where they share experiences with other similar initiatives elsewhere in Europe. They have seen a diverse range of farms which have an innovative use of an urban farm environment: eco-tourism, community gardens, eco-villages etc. 

John Le Corney, now Heeley City Farm Chief Executive, was a founder member of and has worked at Heeley City Farm for over 30 years. He says:

“The 2-hectare Heeley City Farm provides sustainable employment for 46 people with the help of 250 volunteers, annually supporting and helping over 500 vulnerable and disadvantaged young people and adults and welcoming 100,000 visitors. We have never been challenged when we have claimed that our farm is the most diversified farm in the UK and, perhaps, Europe. Heeley City Farm could be an important role model for the future of both urban and rural farms.”

Heeley City Farm is a member of the UK’s Federation of City Farms & Community Gardens, Care Farming UK and has been awarded the Sheffield Telegraph Environment Innovation Award for local food growing work. More information can be found here: http://www.heeleyfarm.org.uk/