Government says visitor farms must remain closed despite lockdown easing

The popular Daisy May’s visitor farm in Elsenham has once again been forced to close its doors to the public just one day after reopening.

A late amendment to the Government’s easing down laws means zoos and similar visitor attractions are to remain closed, despite non-essential shops and golf courses being allowed to resume business.

Owner Rachel Berry described the news as a “frustrating” blow for the Hall Road farm, which relies heavily on visitor income to fund the care of its farm and rescue animals.

Now it has launched a second crowd-funding appeal to raise £17,000 towards its winter running costs.

"We were open for one day before we were contacted by Uttlesford District Council to say we weren't allowed to open. It seems ridiculous given that essential shops can open, but we can't being an outdoor space," said Rachel.

"Uttlesford has no say in the matter, they have to uphold the law and they were lovely about it, but said they didn't know when we could reopen and there was nothing they could do.

"It's very frustrating when you think that the golf course and crazy golf course nearby are open. We had put everything in place - the people who had visited for that one day were very happy and we only had a limited amount of times booked. We have new hand sanitiser stations, signs and areas opened up to allow more space. It is very frustrating."

The delay in reopening follows a difficult year for Daisy May's in 2019 when the closure of Hall Road for bridge repairs hampered visitor numbers. Then came the wet winter, followed by the coronavirus lockdown during the farm's busy spring season.

"We've barely had any visitors and we earn our money between March and September. We are scraping through at the moment, but we haven't got any buffer for winter," said Rachel.

"There is a lot of support for us, but we just need to know when we can open again."