Tombreck Action Group (TAG)

advisory group, inclusive board structures, lease/licences (residential)

The Tombreck Action Group brings together all households and businesses located on Tombreck farm in Perthshire. The group, which includes the landowners, provides advice on land-use decisions and it has responsibilities to care for shared assets.

Regenerating Tombreck farm by creating a new, sustainable community

Tombreck farm is a 240-acre hill farm in Perthshire, above Loch Tay. The farm was bought in 1948 by Andrew Brown and his son James Brown, and for 35 years the land was farmed as a mixed stock farm combining the growing of cereals and vegetables with cattle and sheep grazing. In 1997, James’ youngest son, Tober, took over, and he moved to the farm. A few years later, his partner Sue, who is an architect, joined him there. By this point, the land and the buildings on the land had become neglected and Tober and Sue put significant thought into ways to bring the land back into productive use and support a sustainable community through new housing and employment opportunities.

In 2003, the Tombreck Action Group (TAG) was founded by Tober, Sue and a group of friends. TAG’s aims were “to work as a farm, to diversify into other activities so as to include other people and provide housing and employment at a sustainable level”.

TAG’s dual role: an advisory body and a residents’ association

TAG consists of all households located at Tombreck Farm and all businesses registered at Tombreck Farm. This includes Tombreck Farm LLP which is the farming business that still owns most of the land. Membership of TAG is mandatory for all households and businesses and this requirement is included in people’s lease or deed of ownership.

TAG is a voluntary constituted body with 17 to 25 members. It has four unpaid officers who are elected on an annual basis by the members at the Annual General Meeting. These officers take on the role of chair, secretary, treasurer and minutes secretary within the group. TAG meets four times a year and its constitution sets out that at least one officer and five members must be in attendance at the meeting, otherwise it is rescheduled. A membership levy, used for maintenance of services: the track, water treatment and sewage system, has been set at £10 per month for each independent adult within each household. If an individual finds that their circumstances have changed and they cannot afford the payment, the levy can be waived until their finances improve.

TAG has two distinct roles in shaping the way the land at Tombreck is managed. It advises Tombreck Farm LLP in key decisions, for example, on bringing new businesses onto the land or allocating housing. In practice, agreement is achieved through conversation and by fleshing out any concerns or issues rather than by putting matters to a vote. Tober and Sue, the owners of Tombreck Farm LLP, have a deciding say but their membership of TAG means they are very well-informed of the views of the wider community. In addition to this advisory role, TAG has developed into a residents’ association with responsibility for the care and use of shared assets, like the domestic water supply, the track, the water treatment shed and certain types of equipment.

Creating opportunities to live and build a living on the land

In 1997, Tombreck farm was home to only 1 person. Over the past twenty years the community has grown to approximately 25 people spread over nine households. The formalisation of TAG as a constituted body opened new funding opportunities (targeted at communities rather than at farmers), including funding to conduct a Rural Housing Feasibility Study (2019). The farm offers affordable owner-occupier and tenanted rural housing and there is ambition to further expand with a view to attracting young people. A number of small businesses are now leasing land, including Tombreck Market Garden. Once neglected land has been planted with native trees and the farm is hoping to soon welcome someone to start a regenerative grazing project to further help restore the area and produce food at the same time.

“It has been 20 years since I moved here. I have been looking at photographs and if you compare what it was like then versus what it is like now, it is unrecognisable. It is amazing. It is a very, very cared for place. And there are lots of different people that care for different parts of it.” – Katy MacLeod, member of the Tombreck Action Group

Source

• Interview Katy MacLeod and Wendy Graham (members)
• https://www.tombreck.co.uk/