Reimagining Haithwaite Farm: A new visitor experience for North Cumbria

Welcome to an interview with Haithwaite Farm’s project manager, Kenny Robb. We chatted to Kenny about the ethos behind the Haithwaite Farm project. 

Kenny Robb, Property Director at Netherby Hall Ltd and Kim Capstick, Director of Operations, at Haithwaite Farm

Haithwaite Farm is a major visitor‑economy development near Longtown in North Cumbria which is transforming largely derelict former farm buildings. The ambition is to create a destination for visitors and to provide services to the local community, all with a focus on sustainability. 

The development will include a café, farm shop, heritage centre, craft workshops, a distillery, a taphouse bar, an event and exhibition space and two self-catering accommodation properties.  

The heritage centre will highlight the story of the Border Reivers, while the craft workshops will provide a platform for skilled makers from the local area.  

The farm shop, café, distillery and craft spaces will prioritise local farmers, growers, makers and producers, providing reliable, year‑round routes to market for local businesses.   

The development is expected to create more than 50 permanent jobs.  

How have you involved the community in what’s happening at Haithwaite Farm? 

Kenny Robb: We’ve involved local people by holding community meetings in the village hall and inviting them down to Haithwaite Farm to see the site. We really want to show the sort of positivity we’re trying to create in the local area. And it seems to be working. 

What is being done to make the project as sustainable as possible?  

We’ve planted thousands and thousands of trees [about 47,000] as part of the Haithwaite Farm project to help enhance biodiversity and support long‑term carbon sequestration. 

We’ve covered a lot of the original footprint of the farm and are reusing up to 80 per cent of the stone that was already here on the site as part of the original property. Sustainability is an integral part of [Haithwaite Farm owner] Gerald Smith’s list of must‑dos, and I think that’s very important. And also for the local community to see that we are being as sustainable as possible across the whole development. 

How do you feel about the project now?  

Having seen the Haithwaite Farm project at its initial stages, when you walk around it now and see what has been achieved, it’s a massive transformation. I think it looks fantastic, and when it’s all completed, it will be something quite stunning for people to visit and to experience.