The Farmers Mart Jun/Jul 2014 - Issue 34 | Page 64

PROPERTY

RIDBA LAUNCHES SECOND FAB AWARDS
Following the success of
the first-ever Farm and
Agricultural Buildings
(FAB) awards last year,
RIDBA (the Rural and
Industrial Design and
Buildings Association) is
holding a second event in
2015.
Entries are now being invited
in an enhanced scheme which
sees the potential for award
wins being extended to farm
buildings of different sizes and
for non-agricultural use as well
as to light industrial buildings.
As well as an overall first,
second and third prize there
will now also be awards for
working farm buildings below
and above 250m2, buildings
changed for diversification,
equestrian buildings and the
most unusual building.
The FAB awards aim to

recognise and rewards
contractors and clients who
have taken the time and effort
to ensure their new farm
buildings are sympathetic to
and even complement the local

landscape, while ensuring
they are fit for purpose and
have been designed with
sustainability in mind.
Entries in all categories
are judged on three criteria,

Cross Lanes organic farm shop - winner of the inaugural FAB awards.

with 50% of the marks being
allocated for aesthetics/
design, 30% for functionality/
fit for purpose, and 20% for
sustainability.
Supplied by a RIDBA
corporate member, typically a
contractor or fabricator of steel
or timber framed buildings, the
building must be a working one
and completed between April
2013 and December 2014.
Winners will be announced
at a gala presentation dinner at
the Royal York Hotel in York on
Friday 24 April 2015 following
the organisation’s AGM.
Sponsorships are available
to supplement last year’s
sponsors who are supporting
again this year - Marley Eternit,
Wedge Galvanising, Kingspan
Insulated Panels, Brett
Martin Daylight Systems and
Steadman’s.

DALES FARMHOUSE AND
LAND UP FOR SALE
Keith and Jean
leave the nest…
After a lifetime of farming,
North Yorkshire couple
Jean and Keith Clarkson
are planning their
retirement and have put
their farm, the charmingly
named Throssle Nest in
mid-Wensleydale, on the
market through Robin
Jessop.
“I said that when I reached
65, I would retire,” Keith said.
“And I am sticking to it, but it
will be strange because I’ve
always been in farming and it’s
a good life, if a very busy one,
seven days a week.”
Jean, who is 61, moved to
the area when she was just
four years old, and says they
will not be moving out of the

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Jun/Jul 2014 FarmersMart

area which they both love.
“It’s where all our friends are,
after all, but we are looking
for somewhere manageable,
maybe a bungalow but it has
to have some land with it
because we will be taking our
two sheepdogs with us.”
The couple have two
sons, but neither of them is
interested in taking over the
farm.
“Farming has changed a lot
like everything else, so it is
time to move on,” said Keith.
Throssle Nest is a highly
productive Dales farm which
has carried a flock of 350
ewes and followers together
with a 20 cow suckler herd.
The farm steading faces
south and the whole farm
enjoys some spectacular

scenery within the beautiful
Yorkshire