“The fact is, we have not said we would move, only that we are reviewing our options,” said Lady Jane. “This is a competition and we are not prepared to share commercially sensitive information.”
The friends have passed a resolution to amend their constitution to read that they only support the trust while it “pursued its aims at Brogdale”.
Founder of the 700-strong Friends, Joan Morgan said: “The trust should be guardians of the collections, but in trying to move them, it is putting them at risk of being split up on several different sites. There is no other fruit collection like it in the world.”
The friends passed their resolution at a special general meeting held on April 28 by 42 votes to 14. “There is no good reason to move the collections,” added Dr Morgan. “Brogdale has an international reputation for 50 years because of the National Fruit Collection. Why throw away 50 years of good will? It is daft to move the collections when they are perfectly fine where they are. The landowner Hillreed Land has said that it will extend the lease on the farm until 2050 so the site is secure. The trust is acting in the interests of itself, not the fruit collections.”
A group of the friends are now starting a new group in support of keeping the collections at Brogdale and are hoping to make Defra aware of their concerns should it award the tender to the trust.
But Lady Jane warns against any lobbying of the department. “One of the things that we want to avoid is any lobbying of government [on this issue],” she said. “Nobody should be trying to lobby for a bid. This is Defra’s decision.”
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