mond2x: World-class orchid saved after expert wins planning fight

Monday, April 18, 2011

World-class orchid saved after expert wins planning fight

AN ORCHID collection of worldwide importance has been saved for future generations after a planning battle in the Staffordshire Moorlands.

Retired dentist Dick Hartley is internationally acclaimed for his expertise in growing the exotic flowers and his collection has a reputation as one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.

The 69-year-old father-of-two has a collection of thousands, which he tends in two 60 by 40 foot greenhouses at his home in Mill Lane, Wetley Rocks.

Mr Hartley and his wife, Denise, also 69, want to move to a smaller bungalow as Denise is suffering from ill health. age and health begins to takes its toll.

But they need to be close to the rare orchids from across the world, which need 24-hour care and could die if they were moved.

They applied to build a property in their existing grounds, which ran into opposition from planners concerned it was an inappropriate development of green belt land and could open the floodgates for similar applications.

But they were over-ruled by councillors, who said the prized collection, built up over 35 years, deserved the same protection as the Staffordshire Hoard.

Mr Hartley holds National Plant Collection status for his Stanhopea orchids and the collection is one of only a handful recognised by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens.
There are 650 national plant collections in total, of which only 12 are orchids.

His mission is to keep rare plants alive and return the seeds to their country of origin. It is a full-time job, which costs the couple �10,000 a year.

Mr Hartley told a meeting of the district council's planning committee: "There is an urgent need to downsize because my wife has suffered from ill-health.

"The relocation of the collection is impractical because of its size and there is no temporary accommodation available."

He was supported by Cheddleton councillor Mike Bowen, who proposed a vote in favour of the application.

He said: "The plants in the collection are quite rare and they could have scientific and medical benefits. If we lose them we will never know.

"It is impossible to shift this collection anywhere in Europe.

"We need to stress it is a globally important collection in the Staffordshire Moorlands.

"The orchids exist in a tropical environment and need 24-hour supervision.
"They are not plants which you can take home and stick in a front room. They need to be in these greenhouses, which is paramount to this application.

"Any movement could lose half of them. If this application does not go ahead, the collection will have to be destroyed and one of the jewels of the Moorlands will vanish.

"I would liken it to the Staffordshire Hoard, but it is more fragile and needs the protection we can give it."

But chief planning officer Mike Green said the couple's desire to downsize did not amount to the special circumstances needed to justify building a new property within the green belt and special landscape area.

He said: "We are looking at a downsizing operation and that it not the role of councillors to facilitate, especially when there is a significant breach of green belt control.

"I would suggest there could be remote monitoring of the greenhouses, not that we want the collection dismantled."

Mr Hartley does allow public viewings of his collection and can be contacted on 01782 550313 to arrange a time.