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Netherby Hall Limited is a company set up by Gerald and Margo Smith. The Company’s Vision and Mission are:

 

 

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To create a sustainable future for Netherby Hall and Pentonbridge Inn by delivering fantastic experiences for our guests.

 

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To deliver experiences that set new standards of excellence and attract visitors from around the world to the historic borderland between Scotland and England. We aim to set the standard in hospitality, not only for quality & service, but also in the way that we look after our people. Our goal is to be the employer of choice for suitably qualified candidates, as well as a destination to which people return time after time.

 

Creating a sustainable future requires the generation of sufficient income to cover costs, which are substantial. The largest element of cost is staff and the Company employs approximately thirty staff and supports local businesses in the area.

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Currently the Company generates income principally from the letting of self-catering accommodation at Netherby Hall, the holding of a small number of events at Netherby Hall and from the sale of food and drink and the provision of accommodation at Pentonbridge Inn.

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In the long term in order to become sustainable it is necessary to either increase revenues to cover the Company’s fixed costs or to substantially reduce those costs. Given the upward pressure on many of these costs from factors beyond its control, a sustained reduction in fixed costs would require a reduction in the number of employees. The owners’ preference is to expand the Company’s range of activities and increase its operating profits rather than reduce employment. They are willing to commit the necessary funds to make this possible provided that these new activities have a realistic prospect of generating the additional income required.

The planned development at Haithwaite Farm will add additional revenues directly from self-catering holiday lets, farm shop and café sales, wellness centre memberships and usage fees, exhibitions and workshop and studio rents. It should also have a positive impact on revenues at Netherby Hall and Pentonbridge Inn by increasing the range of activities for visitors to the area leading to increased numbers of visitors and an increase in the average length of stay. These indirect benefits will be shared with other providers of holiday accommodation and services for visitors in the area.

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The Haithwaite site will also be hub for visitors interested in exploring the enhanced biodiversity within the re-wilding project on part of the overall site and for people interested in the history of the borders. A visitor centre focusing on the Border Reivers and wildlife safaris will start and finish from the site.

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It is hoped that the broader site incorporating both the lands of the original Haithwaite and Peterscrook Farms and land adjacent to Pentonbridge Inn will become a flagship project for innovation in the management of land for the production of food and for environmental benefits. This should attract further investment to support the transition to a net zero rural economy including improvements in connectivity by rail and better internet speeds. Both of which would be of wider benefit to a currently very poorly connected community.

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The stated ambitions of the Borderland Growth  Deal are delivering green growth and attracting new businesses and investment. The signatories of the deal have committed themselves to improving connectivity, delivering skills and innovation and improving places to improve their longer-term resilience as well as to attracting new residents and more visitors to enjoy the beautiful natural environment of the region.

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The location of the site close to the boundaries of four counties, Cumbria, Northumberland, Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders and within the Carlisle City region, places it at the heart of the area covered by the Borderlands Growth Deal. The development of Haithwaite Farm as proposed here dovetails perfectly with the aims of the deal.