Sansaw Life

The Estate Office,
Sansaw Business Park
Hadnall
Shrewsbury
Shropshire
SY4 4AS
Telephone
+44 (0)1939 211 100
sansaw.co.uk
Issue One
Sansaw
Life
1
Welcome
2
Family Matters
4
Sansaw Says
6
The Green Life
Read the Thompson Tenants reveal
family’s first interview their favourite
things about life
on Sansaw
Robin Thompson
shares tips from
India on how to
conserve water
7
8
13
John Powell talks
frankly about his
likes and dislikes
James Thompson
looks back on the
highs and lows of
The Pavilions
Canada, Cooking
and Chainsaws
Sansaw
Business Park
14
16
Shane Brettell
reflects upon the
rocky road to
going organic
Meet some of
the Sansaw team
Farming Focus
Who’s Who
12
The Stables
These historic
buildings offer a
modern, healthy
way of working
Modern Rural
Working
Robin Hume
Associates on
running a successful
business at Sansaw
01
Welcome
Welcome to the very first edition of Sansaw
Life, our new magazine for you, by you. As
2008 draws to an end, we’re looking back
on what has been a year of considerable
highs and lows, particularly with the long
awaited opening of The Pavilions. Some
of you, we realise, might not be familiar
with all the developments, but hopefully
Sansaw Life will put you in the picture.
The community at Sansaw is growing
and really is at the heart of everything
we do, so it’s important to us that everyone
feels part of what we’re trying to achieve
on the Estate.
Have your say in the next issue.
Send your words, thoughts and
ideas to [email protected].
Sansaw Life is your
opportunity to share stories,
thoughts, tips, pictures,
feedback, whatever you like.
This is your magazine and
we hope you will contribute
in the forthcoming issues.
02–03
Family
Matters
Family interview
The Thompson family talk to Sarah
Jennings about the whirlwind of 2008
and the challenges that lie ahead.
It’s a crisp morning at Sansaw and as
the Thompson family chat around the
breakfast table, it’s clear that the past
year has given them much to talk about.
“Nowadays managing a rural estate
is much more complicated. You spend
about a third of the time worrying about
legislation, there’s no room for error,”
says Robin. But it wasn’t plain sailing in
With the high profile build of The Pavilions, the past, Jane recalls. “Thirty years ago,
it’s easy to lose sight of Sansaw’s other
no-one wanted to rent the cottages. Robin
highlights this year. As James says, “We
adds, “we have continually modernised the
had a successful first lambing in the spring cottages and we are now fortunate to have
and have sold lots of pigs, potatoes and
them all occupied with a waiting list.”
carrots.” Åsa adds, “It’s great to see
the Sansaw jigsaw starting to fit together
This is a sign of the current shift towards
with the completion of The Pavilions
Modern Rural Living at Sansaw, the three
and the launch of the website.”
words that underpin everything the family
does – from the organic food they produce
It seems there are many challenges of
to the management of their properties.
rural living that the family face. “We need
“We want to provide not only housing but
to maintain the old, whilst building the
the ability to walk to work and eat the
new, which is why everything is reinvested
potatoes grown outside your back door,”
back into the estate,” says James. Jane
says James. “It’s really refreshing,” adds
quickly adds that “carrying out the
Robin, “because it is an idea that has
day-to-day operations, on top of all the
traditional roots but is totally relevant to the
restructuring is a bit like fire fighting.”
modern world.” “It is also about accepting
For Robin, running a modern rural
the challenges and responsibilities we face
business in a fragile rural economy
as a business to deliver a more sustainable
is a social responsibility he takes very
future,” says Åsa.
seriously. “We’re not just a housing
provider, we really care about our tenants.”
For the moment though, the focus is
on the day-to-day maintenance and
running of the properties, both cyclical
and reactive work. Plus the new projects,
like integrating The Pavilions and The
Stables into the new Sansaw Business
Park. A fibre optic cable has been brought
onto the Sansaw Business Park and in
time the aim is to expand that network
across the estate enabling tenants to enjoy
the benefit of ultra high speed broadband.
Plans are also afoot to upgrade the estate’s
water and sewerage systems. “Which
was for the most part installed by the
Victorians,” says Robin.
Family is clearly the crux of life at Sansaw.
So how has the handover from father
to son affected things? Robin sees the
transition as a process of osmosis, which
is for the long-term good of the estate.
James points out that, “Robin is still here,
as the chairman and I’m the managing
director, dealing with the day-to-day
operational stuff.
It’s a huge change for us, but hopefully
things are now on a level where everything
is starting to fall into place. It’s all about
trust and respect for each other.” Like all
families they have their differences and
all come from different angles, “but
always in the same direction,” insists Jane.
There are clearly many issues and
responsibilities that come with running
an estate, especially in this tough economic
climate. “Looking after tenants and their
properties is always our key priority,”
assures James. “The challenges ahead are
to let The Pavilions and the remaining
offices in The Stables.” Robin adds,
“we will review our cost base but the
estate maintenance will be central to
what we do.” Åsa continues, “like everyone
else we’re having to adapt to the current
situation and put certain plans on hold.”
It’s an emotional time for the family, but
despite this I sense a cautious optimism
in the room. The Thompson’s ambitious
plans may be on ice, but they are certainly
not going to melt away.
The best thing
about living on
the Estate is…
Maddy and
Mr M K
David Lucas,
Johnson,
2 Mine Cottages 2 Sansaw Road
‘The peace and tranquility
of the countryside with
the communications of
a city centre.’
Jeannie
Sargeant,
Bridge Cottage
Mrs Morgan
May, Hardwicke
Bungalow
‘I love it and
wouldn’t want to
live anywhere else.
I’ve lived on the
estate all my life,
59 years, like my
mother and father,
and hope to go out
in my box!’
‘I love being here –
there is so much
history, especially
at The Stables where
the horses were
on one side and
the Rolls Royces
on the other.’
Mr. and Mrs. Reith,
School House, Hadnall
‘We have lived
here for 43 years
since we were
first married.
‘The surroundings, ‘I came from the
the trees, fields and town to work here
living on the edge of and enjoy the rural
such a nice village.’ surroundings so
much I could
not go back.’
Stuart Willis,
The Stables,
Sansaw Business Park
04–05
Steve Edwards,
The Old Saw
Yard, Hadnall
‘The Estate
understands
agriculture and
during the Foot and
Mouth epidemic,
the Estate halved my
rent for 6 months –
what other landlord
would do that?’
We like the
continuity
and feel we
have the best
of both worlds
living here.’
The
Green Life
I am no good at … cooking. I leave it all
to my wife. She makes an excellent steak
and kidney pie, although they also do
a good one at The Railway Inn, Yorton.
I do a bit of beating for shooting parties
and we sometimes stop there for lunch.
06–07
You wouldn’t guess it but … I’m very
found of Abba. It tends to annoy my
wife, who prefers country and western.
I also like some classical music too –
things like Andrew Lloyd Webber’s
Phantom of the Opera, the hymn
Jerusalem, and Elgar’s Pomp and
Circumstance. Good rousing stuff.
Conserve water for tomorrow
On a recent trip to India, Robin Thompson
was struck by a leaflet about the unintentional
wastage of water. Here are a few simple ways
we can all start to do our bit.
1
Washing
hands
Half-fill the sink
instead of running
the tap for two
minutes and use
2 litres instead
of 18 litres.
5
Watering
plants
Using a watering
can instead of
running the hose
for 5 minutes can
save 115 litres.
4
2
Brushing
teeth
Instead of running
the tap for five
minutes, which uses
45 litres of water,
fill a small glass and
only use 0.5 litres.
6
Washing
the car
Replace running
a hose for 10
minutes which uses
a staggering 400
litres, with two
buckets and save
382 litres.
Shaving
3
Flushing
the toilet
Large capacity
cisterns hold about
13.5 litres. Dual
systems, with short
flushes for liquid
waste and full
flushes for solid
waste can save
4.5 litres per flush.
Guess that’s one
for us! Alternatively,
if it’s yellow let it
mellow if it’s brown
flush it down.
Use a shaving mug,
which only takes up
0.25 litres instead of
running the tap and
wasting 18 litres.
7
Showering
Letting the water
run whilst soaping
takes up a huge
90 litres. Turn the
shower off when
soaping up and
save 70 litres.
Canada, cooking
and chainsaws
John Powell interview
John Powell has been a member of
Sansaw’s maintenance team for nearly
20 years. Here are his favourite and
not so favourite things.
There’s nothing I like better … than
being in the woods, and working with
a chainsaw. It would have to be autumn,
so I could enjoy all the colours.
My private passion is … collecting
things – nearly anything will do. I go
to quite a few farm sales, they’re a
good social event. I like the banter with
people, but I also keep an eye out for old
machinery, or anything that I can make
a profit on. My wife says, ‘Don’t you
bring anything back,’ but you have
to bring back something, don’t you?
I would love to go to … Canada, to see
the vast open spaces and all the trees.
It would be like Sansaw, only a lot bigger.
I would like to meet … Thomas Telford
or Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It would be
interesting to know how they built things
without the machinery we have today.
My favourite car is … The Morris 1000
Traveller – the one with the wooden batons
down the side and the double doors at the
back. My wife had one that was working
until seven years ago. Now it’s in our
shed – I haven’t had time to fix it!
Sansaw Business Park
After two years in
the making, James
Thompson looks
back on the highs
and the lows of
The Pavilions.
The
Pavilions
08–09
10–11
Right
James Thompson
Above
Duke of Westminster
Below
Architectural sketch
With construction setbacks and escalating
budgets, at times it seemed like The
Pavilions were never going to be built. But
all the stress and sleepless nights were worth
it to see The Duke of Westminster officially
open the three open-plan buildings on
the September 10th this year. The 16,000
square feet of striking glass and wood
architecture certainly didn’t fail to impress!
An exceptional,
environmentally
sound office space
Back in 2006 we decided to invest
in beautifully designed modern rural
offices that would employ the best
environmental technologies in order
to reduce the development’s long-term
impact on the environment. We have
delivered our vision and now have three
superb buildings, which have achieved
an A rating for their energy performance.
Incorporating features like ground
source heat exchangers and rainwater
harvesting, we’re making the best of
the natural resources available to us,
without compromising on state-of-theart ICT facilities.
Left
Balcony and Signage
As part of the ongoing development at
the Sansaw Business Park, The Pavilions
provides an inspirational and healthy
working environment, which also reflects
timber in all its glory. Complementing
the existing Stable block, they’re a
modern rural workspace, created to
suit a wide range of businesses.
Our ambitious
vision for
the future
called Modern
Rural Living
Right
View from The Pavilions
Pavilions opened
10th September 08
All this is part of our ambitious vision
for the future called Modern Rural Living –
a term you might have seen on our website
and literature, or heard about on the
grapevine. Modern Rural Living is a way
of redefining rural living, offering both
the environment and the lifestyle for
a healthy, happy and sustainable life.
Over the coming issues of Sansaw Life,
we look forward to hearing what Modern
Rural Living means to you.
Currently, one
office has been let to
Carter Jonas and we
have good interest in the other two. We’re
working hard to ensure that in the coming
months the remaining office spaces will
be let. After all, who doesn’t want to come
and work in the beautiful Shropshire
countryside that we all love?
Below
Sansaw Pavilions
12–13
A fusion of the old and the new, The Stables
are creating a sense of place for business
in Shropshire and further afield.
The Stables on Sansaw Business Park
are a collection of historic coach houses
and stables set around a cobbled courtyard.
In keeping with our ethos of Modern Rural
Living, we are transforming these units
into contemporary office space, whilst still
retaining The Stable Block’s charming
character.
The offices range from 200 to 1300 square
feet, so there’s a space to suit every kind
of business. We finish all the offices to a
very high standard and each comes fitted
with its own digital telephone system and
secure data network. This gives tenants
super-fast internet access and no headaches
installing broadband or telephone systems.
We also ensure the offices have fitted
kitchens and are carpeted throughout
and of course there is ample parking
for cars and bikes.
The Stables, like The Pavilions, offer
a healthy, sustainable alternative to town
and city working, perfect for businesses
that want to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Why not come and see for yourself?
Sansaw Business Park
The Stables offers a stunning rural
setting combined with state-of-the-art
communications.
The Stables
Robin
Hume
Modern Rural Working
In 13 The Stables, Sansaw Business Park,
Robin Hume Associates are hard at work,
but 70-year-old semi-retired Robin
Hume shows no sign of slowing down.
Designing and implementing irrigation
systems, Robin Hume Associates have
an impressive client list of golf courses,
racecourses and other sports grounds,
including Ascot and Twickenham.
However, as Robin points out “Most
of our work is further afield, like
Muscat in the Oman.”
After training in horticulture Robin
spent five years in the army, then got
a job with ‘Wright Rain’ in 1964, a
company that helped farmers with
irrigation. In 1972, Robin and his
wife Trish, moved to Shropshire
after falling in love with the county.
‘What a fantastic
place to work in’
Robin Hume
Associates has
a pretty good
track record for
a company that
doesn’t advertise,
securing a £3.5m
contract for St
Andrews Links
Trust in 1998,
purely because of
their excellent reputation.
A typical job, he explains, involves laying
around 20,000 metres of piping. Bigger
pipes have to be laid in a trench, but
smaller ones are ‘mole ploughed’, using
a machine to pull the pipes into the
ground. He makes it all sound so simple.
In 1995, Robin sold his contracting
company in Cheshire and moved
to Sansaw to set up his own design
consultancy. “Working at Sansaw is
ideal,” he says. “It’s close to my house
and a nice environment to work in.
Everyone who visits says, ‘What a
fantastic place to work in.’ ”
When he does finally retire, there’s
a vegetable patch waiting for him –
with its own irrigation system, of course.
14–15
Farming
Forum
Turning organic hasn’t been easy,
“It has been a steep learning curve
and the Soil Association’s paperwork
is massive,” says Shane. He also meets
the Freedom Foods animal welfare
standard and the Lion Code quality
mark for the poultry enterprise.
‘It has been a steep
learning curve’
Organic Farming
It’s been a bumpy ride, but
Sansaw’s organic farmer Shane
Brettell talks about the risk that
eventually paid off.
Today, Columbian Black Tail chickens,
the breed Waitrose prescribes to its
suppliers, are the love of the family’s
life. Shane has a rearing shed with 2000
young chicks, and two laying sheds,
each of which can house 2000 birds.
Below
Liz and Shane Brettell
It seemed doomed from the
start, just when Shane Brettell
decided to go organic, everything
had to be put on hold. The 2001
outbreak of Foot and Mouth
prevented the Soil Association
inspectors visiting the farm and
giving him a licence to trade.
But seven years on, he has turned the
farm around and now has high-profile
markets selling organic eggs to Waitrose
and organic beef to Sainsburys. Shane,
with his wife Liz and sons Ed and Chris
are now spearheading the management
of Sansaw’s own organic farming
enterprise. “It has been hard work but
we are really positive about our future
in agriculture,” says Shane.
So what made him decide to go organic?
“The market for conventional grain
was not profitable back in 2000,” says
Shane. “But with a great deal of help
and encouragement from John Gwilliam
of Pimhill Organic Farm and Trevor
Sheard of Balfours we decided to
convert to organic.”
Above
Columbian Black
Tail chickens
Above
Ed Brettell and friend
The chicks are reared to organic standards
from day one; however getting them used
to humans means many hours walking
the young chicks but this does lead to
a stress-free, free range life.
Shane laughs, “The chickens only lay
six days a week, but there’s no lie in
for the family, because the birds never
take the same day off!”
But Shane is confident about the future.
“It is unbelievable how the market
for organic produce has jumped,” he
says. “People want more and more. We
are keeping our fingers crossed that it
continues during what will undoubtedly
be difficult economic times.”
16
Who’s Who
Bob Lazenby
Carpenter &
Game Keeper
Smiley Bob is
very keen on his
birds and bees.
Gary Roberts
Bench Joiner
Ioan Hughes
Pig Unit Manager
Gary has completed
the 50 mile Long
Mynd Hike and
prefers 1 sugar
in his tea.
He is either chasing
pigs around muddy
fields or his 7
children around
the house!
Graham Mitchell
Property Manager
Ted Shepherd
Gardener & General
Maintenance.
He’s an aspiring
golfer, who reckons
his only handicap
is his clubs!
Jenny Taylerson
Estate Secretary
Jenny was a Major
in the Army and
a white water
canoeing champion.
Ted has 3 ferrets
Herbie, Jasper and
Nipper and an
Austin A35.
Neil Titley
Semi-retired
Foreman
Neil and wife Mary’s
passion is showing
their curly coated
retreivers.
Jane Benson
Lettings and
Marketing Manager
Jane loves fine
holidays and
fine wine.
Credits
We would like to say a huge
thank you to the following
people for making this first
issue possible:
Contributors
Creative Team
Robin Thompson
Jane Thompson
James Thompson
Åsa Thompson
John Powell
Robin Hume
Shane Brettell
Jane Benson
Jenny Taylerson
Graham Mitchell
Ted Shepherd
Neil Titley
Bob Lazenby
Gary Roberts
Maddy and David Lucas
Stuart Willis
Mr and Mrs Reith
Jeannie Sargeant
Steve Edwards
Mrs Morgan May
Mr M K Johnson
Ioan Hughes
SEA
(Design)
Ralph Ardill
(Brand Consultant)
Jim Stephens
(Photographer)
Sarah Jennings
(Writer)
Robert Bullard
(Writer)
Denis Brereton
(Architect)
Frederik Broman
(Photographer)
Ross Sharpe
(Architect)