06/01/2014 Inside Out West

Hello from Wellington in Somerset. Tonight, immigration. From the start

of this year, work restrictions for roaming ins and Bulgarians came to

an end, so why are some of those who employ them feeling for `` fearing

for their livelihood? `` Romanians. The temptation will be for better

people to search for full`time jobs. If we cannot get labour, the

business will have to cease. Also tonight, the row over the patch of

grass where Bath Rugby club play. If we cannot develop year, there are

not many options. Ultimately, we might have to move out. It is

therefore the citizens of Bath, has an open space and not therefore

commercial exploitation. And Miranda Krestovnikoff is in Gloucestershire

visiting a wildlife trust trying to turn me profit from farming one of

its reserves. I think you will find a really nutty

flavour. That is fabulous! I am in Alister McQueen and this is Inside

Out West. `` Alistair McGee.

Last week, Romanians and Bulgarians were given the freedom to come and

live and work in this country. There's already been widespread

debate about the impact this will have on the welfare system and jobs

market. But we have discovered that the new rules could actually mean

fewer, not more, migrants coming to work on farms in the West. Some say

it could even mean the end of the soft food industry here. They

predicted 14,000 polls would arrive to work in Britain and in the end,

the number was 700,000. `` Polish people. The number of Romanians and

Bulgarians working in Britain jumped by a third compared to last year.

Fears expressed that come 2014, Bulgarians and Romanians will flood

into Britain. The 1st of January has been and gone and the laws allowing

Bulgarians and Romanians to work in the UK have changed. There's been

much talk about how this could mean more immigrants taking British jobs.

But for businesses like this fruit farm, that the end on migrant

labour, the changes could actually mean that the workforce tries up. ``

that depend on migrant labour. What impact will this have on fruit

farming and what will be the wider impact on the horticulture industry

in Britain? There is nothing better than a planet of locally produced

strawberries. We have been enjoying such delights for generations.

Traditionally, it was always students or families employed on

working holidays that farmers depended on to pick them. They are a

long way from the East End of London but this is a place they have come

ever since fruit has been grown here. And East End know about it.

Good pay and a happy time in the country. Those days have long gone.

Fruit farms like this one near Wellington have depended on Eastern

European pickers for some years Jan has employed them on a short`term

visas under the government's Seasonal Agricultural Workers

Scheme. But last week, the scheme was closed as Bulgarians and

Romanians can no work freely in the UK. I met Jan in December before the

changes to lace. Explain to me why allowing them to be here all the

time will have an impact on your business? `` changes took place At

the moment, my workers can be here for six months maximum, because that

is the law. After January, they will be able to be in the UK working for

as long as they like think the temptation will be `` and I think

the temptation for those with better English will be to search for

full`time jobs. Do you ever advertise jobs locally? DSI have.

There are many good local people but they work full`time `` they want

full`time jobs. I need seasonal workers. It is difficult to get good

quality people. If we cannot get labour, the business will have to

cease. After we finish... Deb Maxey has been a lifeline for Jan, working

here for the last six years. `` Yionut. What about work back home?

You are a qualified man. Tell me about you. I've finished my

accountancy course at university and I've found some jobs in Romania but

it is better here. The money is better. How have you adjusted and

how did you find it, working in the middle of rural England? It is all

right. It is better than my country. I have been here for seven years and

feel like I've been here my whole life. Jan employed 30 for Romanians

and Bulgarians to pick fruit last year and it all came through the

seasonal agricultural workers scheme. She is not certain how many

will come back this year. How big a problem for the rest of our

horticultural industry is this going to be? I have come 30 miles down the

road to find out. This Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme has come

to an end. How many workers are affected by it? How many workers

came last year? Around 22,000 came last year. That is a large number.

And how big an impact do you think it will have on the horticultural

industry? Businesses like this, we could find that they were unable to

compete with competition overseas. Availability of local produce will

drop because the businesses disappear and consumers do not have

the choice of buying locally. There are a lot of problems and while we

are faced with a growing population looking to buy British food. And

that is because they are not going to be able to lure a workforce in

the numbers needed? Absolutely. It is not only the National Farmers

Union that is concerned. The UK Border Agency's migration and Pfizer

E committee has warned that the loss of the scheme could cause the

horticultural sector to contract. It has also warned that it might

increase prices by 15%. In December, the end of the picking season,

Jan's workers get ready to go home to Romania. They have a long journey

ahead of them. It is a familiar routine. Ionut has been doing it for

years. I will go home tonight and there will have to catch a train and

then the bus. I will travel for 12 hours. I will go and see my family

and my wife and my son. It was a long summer. And finally now I will

go home. I hope everything is fine and I have an easy travel. A few all

right. Feel happy because they get to see my family. Butterfield said

because I have to go there and leave the guys here. `` but I'd feel sad.

I'm happy because my family are there.

This place has been home from home but now he must start on the long

road back to Romania. That is just time to say goodbye to the cat.

`` there is just time. I will miss him and he has been very supportive

or year. He has been looking after the migrant workers. They are

absolutely essential for my business. Jan depends on people like

Ionut, migrants who return every summer, but the immigration laws are

likely to change all this. For a farmer like Jan, it could mean the

end of their business. Coming up, Miranda Krestovnikoff

meets a wildlife trust turning its hands to farming. Look! He is

licking the cameraman's leg! You are so gorgeous!

Next night, the row over a precious playing field in the centre of Bath

that has even ended up in court To rugby fans, Bath recreation ground

is the home of their team, currently sitting pretty near the top of the

rugby premiership. But to a group of equally passionate protesters, that

Iraq should be returned to the people of Bath, to whom it was left.

`` Bath Rec. The recreation ground was left to

the residents to play outdoor amateur sport and not for the

development. But over the years a leisure centre was built on it and

it became the home of Bath Rugby club. There's not much on that land

that should have been built but at the time, it was not as charitable

land. If grated a legal minefield. On one side, local residents

fighting to return the land to the people. It is therefore citizens of

have to enjoy throughout the year as an open space and not for commercial

exportation. On the other side, Bath Rugby club say they need to expand

to turn a loss`making business into a profitable one. Or they will quit

the city. If we cannot develop year, there are not many options.

Ultimately, if the worst came to the worst, we would have to move out.

For years, Jack Sparrow has sifted through deeds and documents as he

leads the challenge to get the land returned to an empty green field.

Restrictions, and stipulations. The corporation will not use the ground

otherwise, it is an open space. The key thing was that it was intended

for citizens to do all sorts of legal activities and not to run

large commercial organisations. Bath Rec was left to the people of Bath

in 1922 and the council who maintained it. The council built a

leisure centre and allowed Bath Rugby club to lease a large part of

the land. This was disputed. And the High Court was asked to clarify the

situation in 2002. The judge said that they should not have built on

the land, nor let Bath Rugby take a lease. He handed the problem over to

the Charity commission to sort out. The Charity Commission's plan was to

create a new management team, independent of the council, and

allow Bath Rugby club to expand the stadium on the rec in exchange for

land in the east of the city at Lambridge.

create a new management team, independent of Next week, Jack is

appealing against the plan before a judge. Councillor David Dixon has

spent three years tackling the problem as the chairman of the old

board of trustees. He is staying on as chairman of the new board to help

the transition. If if first place is it would be enormous The Rec Trust

currently earns ?150,000 from the Rugby club, which Jack claims is way

below commercial rates. The rental income is used to

maintain the rec grounds but Jack says many of the buildings have been

allowed to deteriorate. If if if the knife was set up a fifth discipline

Key to the Charity Commission plan is Bath Rugby being allowed to

expand its grounds and the trust pulling in an increase in rent to

improve the rest of The Rec. If if we will look for at least double.

When you look at that, those who benefit from the land of those who

are there to enjoy it and will see significant improvements. The

multi`million pound redevelopment will see the current arena

demolished and replaced with a uniform canopied stadium for up to

16,500 spectators. The Charity commission have signed up a scheme

to afford a small land so we can expand our footprint. Tell me about

the planned to have for this stand. We think it will transform the heart

of the city. It needs to be gorgeous from both sides. Hopefully, we will

have a cafe open a week. What is currently a not very attractive part

of the city could become gorgeous. The plans for that stand are

ambitious. Is there a danger you would upset a few people? There are

some concerns. There is a question on heights. Feedback has been

positive. We won't always be able to please everybody because to make

progress, you have to make some sacrifices, but broadly speaking,

they are supportive. Groups ranging from English Heritage to the Bath

Preservation Trust are keeping a close eye on the expansion plans. We

have never discouraged Bath rugby from bringing forward plans. We have

concerns. Particularly about the height of the roots of the stands.

It makes the idea of the new stadium quite big and that seems to be the

killer problem around this design. They haven't started from the

landscape and worked outwards. They have started from what they want and

need. If we can't find a suitable location, there aren't many options.

We have done very detailed studies and can't find a decent alternative.

If the worst came to the worst, we would have to move out. If that

happens, it could mean the loss of an estimated ?27 million to the Bath

economy and around 264 jobs, not to mention the rental income from the

rugby club. But for Jack, it's all about the letter of the law. What

about the accusation you're being a bit of a spoilsport? Some people

believe that. But I believe in the law and one should follow the law.

This ground was left to the residents of Bath and unless they

are properly asked, it should remain like that. David Dixon believes the

increase in income and the landswap at Lambridge will provide a bright

future for amateur sports in Bath. You put those together, and you have

got a real recipe for success. Increasing participation, getting

more people involved with sports, that's what we are about.

Now, is it possible to make money from farming while at the same time

improving the environment? In our final film tonight, Miranda

Krestovnikoff has been to Gloucestershire to visit a farm that

has taken over by a Wildlife Trust. Greystones Farm was bought by the

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in 1999. Since then, they have been

working to create a profitable farm that also protects the local

wildlife and environment. They are in the process of establishing a

dairy herd and their own speciality cheese. To find out more about how

they farm here with wildlife in mind, I'm meeting reserve manager

Tom. Now, I know that you have conservation grazing. Can you tell

me a bit how that works? We're basically managing the meadows by

haycutting and grazing with the animals for the semi`natural habitat

that exists there. The farm's historic wild flower meadows are

protected by law as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Come on, come

on! Oh, look! Oh, brilliant! The conservation grazing, using cows and

sheep, helps promote regrowth and maintain the meadow's balance whilst

providing a natural, healthy fodder for the animals. So, far from being

a mono`culture here on a farm, you are really managing the place to

increase the diversity of species that you've got here. We're not

trying to maximise, sort of yields and outputs. We are trying to work

very much with the sort of natural grass and systems that are here

Now, you've obviously got the backing of the Wildlife Trust here.

Is this a way of farming that anyone can do, or is it actually not very

profitable? So, for a small livestock farm, it would be very

difficult for anybody to make a true profit out of it. The only way that

it can financially stack up is if you're making a value`added product.

So hence why we are working with Simon, and Simon is a cheesemaker.

I'm sorry! Can we just look? He s licking the cameraman's leg! You are

so gorgeous! Look at you! Ah, I m sorry. It's just a lovely momenT!

Please don't eat that. Your lens is all steamed up. That's great! So,

finding partnerships can help farms like this turn a profit, but a far

greater challenge has been facing the whole industry with the advent

of bovine TB. And a wildlife trust with a dairy herd still needs to

manage its badger population. The sett's just over here. Oh, right.

Yup. So we've got quite a large entrance. Great! See, there's some

fresh bedding. Oh, yeah. Look at that! The culling debate has been a

divisive one and most farmers look to the government policy to find a

solution. But here, the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust have

the backing to invest in a programme of management and vaccination. Setts

like this are fenced off when the cattle graze the area and they are

now three years into a five`year vaccination programme. They were

four years clear of bovine TB but unfortunately have had a single cow

go down with it recently. The rest of the herd is clear for the moment

and Tom hopes that by dealing with the problem within the farm's

boundaries, the success will continue. So we are averaging

vaccinating 22 individuals badgers so that will hopefully result in the

population becoming more resistant. We are tackling the problem on our

farm. Mm, great. Let's hope it continues to work. Yes. Managing the

bovine TB situation is essential to any dairy farm bringing products to

the market, but it's just one of the many things happening at Greystones

with a view to producing cheese and a healthy environment. What makes

Greystones different from your average farm is that they are

constantly considering the environment, both within and beyond

its boundaries. Since the trust acquired the farm in 1999, they have

been working on a river bank restoration project. So I'm meeting

Will, who heads up the project, to find out more. So just talk me

through what you've been doing here because this all looks like it's

been recently cut back. Yeah, this is a stretch of river that we've

been working on with local volunteers. Two or three years ago,

we starting clearing some of the overshading scrub that was coming

over the river. There is ongoing clearing of the river's banks and

water courses around the farm to promote aquatic plant growth. This

in turn provides food and shelter for many of the rivers residents. In

particular, they are hoping to encourage back one of our most

endearing but threatened species, the water vole. So now we hope we

are starting to see signs of water voles within this area coming back

and using that. Now, any immediate signs of water voles that you can

see here? If we concentrate on areas where the vegetation is thicker we

stand a better chance. Get your head right down in there. Oh, look! Right

on cue! Look at all that! Oh, well done! We didn't even set this up. So

basically, you are looking for these sort of tic`tac sizes and shapes.

Nobody's ever called them tic`tacs before! No, well, we do quite a lot,

as opposed to field voles, where you are looking for hundreds and

thousands. And this is an area where they haven't been before, so its

quite exciting to see them back here on this stretch which was entirely

negative. One of the threats to water vole is American Mink, an

invasive species released into the wild during the fur trade. Mink

predation can decimate water vole populations, so we're checking the

trust`monitoring raft and camera trap for any signs of them in the

area. There are some prints of some description on that. Can we just

take a little look? So inside is a little pad of clay. To me, they

don't quite look like a mink. This is the reason we've got the cameras

on the trap, actually, so we can try and make head nor tail of these if

it's worked. Will's not sure what made these prints, but the camera

has, in the past, revealed who else is making use of the raft, like this

inquisitive otter and, of course, our ever`elusive water vole. But

fortunately, no mink. They are not mink, but they are interesting.

Yeah. OK, brilliant. Let's put that back, then. So wildlife is

flourishing at Greystones, but I came here to find out if

conservation farming can create a profit, and this is where local

cheese`maker Simon comes in. He is helping to establish a herd and

onsite dairy on the farm based on his own model. And now, the really

fun bit! I've come to Simon Weaver's organic dairy where the protected

grasses finish their journey from seed to cheese. And hopefully, I'm

going to be trying a little bit of this in a minute. But first, we need

to find out more about the process. Now Simon, these cheeses look like

they've been sitting here for a while. How long do you age them for?

Single Gloucester is aged for at least six weeks. They will go on

long, so they'll go for six months quite easily. A single Gloucester

cheese can only be produced in Gloucestershire from a herd

containing the Gloucester breed but the wild flower grazing adds an

extra dimension. We hope that some of the taste of this cheese will

reflect some of that environment that it's produced in. Well, I'll

tell you later when I try some! Single Gloucester is also special as

it must include the milk of the rare Gloucester breed, which helps to

ensure their survival. So it has many positives, but is a partnership

like Simon's with the Wildlife Trust really a practical solution for

farmers? I've certainly learned a lot from what the Wildlife Trust are

doing and it works both ways because undoubtedly, we've got a message

that we want to get to them because its not all that simple. But

equally, they've got very viable things that they can tell us and

it's not always about spending money sometimes. It's about knowledge and

understanding how wildlife integrates itself in a

commercially`run farm. And what message do you think you'd like to

send out to anybody who would like to try what you've tried? There is a

real passion from consumers to understand where the food comes

from. If we can demonstrate that we are being good for wildlife, surely

that's great for the food that we produce as well. And finally, I m

getting to taste if all that effort has been worth it. I've been looking

forward to this all day! What is really specially about Single

Gloucester cheese? Well, I think you should have a taste first. Oh, yes!

And you'll be an equal judge to me. Right, the proof. Mm! It's really

dry, isn't it? This one, because it's old, it's a slightly mature

one, it's quite dry. Mm! But the moment you've got over that dryness

and you start to chew it, there s a beautiful, creamy, really rich

flavour. Poor Simon! It may take a while to get me away from that

cheeseboard. By next year, Greystones should have a permanent

herd and dairy on site and will hopefully have established a

successful model for eco`friendly dairy farming, at least on a small

scale. For me, anything that combines two of my biggest passions,

food and conservation, can only be a good thing.

Well, that's nearly all we've got time for for tonight. But before we

go, if you want to join the conversation about what we're

working on, and maybe offer your own suggestions, than why not find us on

Twitter? Or you can email us: [email protected]. We'd love

to hear from you. But from all of us here in Wellington, thanks for

watching, good night. Next week We investigate the region's growing

shortage of affordable housing and we see how it's affecting a

low`income family feeling the squeeze. It's not nice. To fit to

bed in a court here, no room. And we follow the Somerset darts

player Trina Gulliver as she tries to win back the world title for the

tenth time. 180! Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your

90 second update. There are more spending cuts on the

way. The Chancellor says ?25 billion worth of savings need to be made

after the next election. At least half of it is likely to come from

the welfare budget. Full details at ten.

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