Caroline Spelman, MP for Meriden, visited Newlands Bishop Farm’s open day on Friday October 19th.
She said: “I was delighted to make a return visit to Newlands Bishop Farm - a gem of a place near Catherine de Barnes which serves learning disabled adults. It has gone from strength to strength, starting out in some old huts on a field it now has a state of the art cafe and IT suite.
“On the farm these young adults learn how to raise plants and look after animals. It was a pleasure to see plants they had raised which will eventually be on sale to the public, as will the firewood from tree trunks split by those learning valuable skills on the site. Newlands now employs a hundred staff to help with the valuable work. Like all charities it faces the challenge of budgets changing to the young adults and their families choosing whether or not to commission their care at the farm but the service users are empowered by this change.
"The farm has seen no increase in budget since 2009 so money is tight and if local people want to back a project that meets a local need then gifts and donations will be well received and you can send them to Newlands Bishop Farm, Berry Hall Lane, Solihull B91 2RY."