Fire at Hinchliffe's
We are devastated to announce that at around 9.30pm on Monday, 5th July, a huge fire wiped out the shop, the restaurant, store room and offices.
Clearly as the site is currently in ruin, trading in the restaurant, farm shop and butchery will be halted until further notice. Information to follow.
CHICKENS STILL FOR SALE!
We still have chaickens and feeds or sale here at the farm.
View our breeds here
PRESS RELEASE:
Farm shop devastated by fire will reopen
Family wants business operational again ‘within weeks’
The Yorkshire family whose award-winning farm shop was destroyed by fire on Monday night hope to have the business up and running again within weeks.
Hinchliffe’s farm shop and the Old Farmhouse Restaurant at Sunnyside Farm, Netherton Moor Road, Huddersfield, were lost in the blaze which began some time before 10pm. The store room and offices were also gutted.
The family were alerted to the blaze by a member of staff. It started in the farm shop and, due to the dry and breezy conditions, quickly spread to other buildings.
Part of a poultry shed was also affected, although this building was saved and few chickens lost. Firefighters were also able to cool propane gas cylinders at the site to prevent them exploding.
Simon Hirst, whose grandfather Charlie Hinchliffe started the business, thanked the 100 firefighters who attended the incident.
He said: “We’ve been farming in this area since the 1960s and have suffered the occasional barn fire before, but nothing as bad as this.
“It was heartbreaking to see businesses we’ve spent years building up devastated in a matter of hours. But we are already working on a plan to have the farm shop up and running again, hopefully in a couple of weeks.”
There is no way to save the affected buildings which will have to be demolished. Then Simon hopes to reopen the farm shop and restaurant on the cleared site, most likely in temporary structures such as a modular marquee.
“Our farm shop was one of the first in Britain to open in 1974 and has enjoyed the support of local people ever since,” he said. “It now has such a good reputation for fantastic fresh produce that people travel from miles around to stock up here.
“We want to reopen the shop as soon as possible to minimise the impact on our loyal customers.”
The family have constructed temporary versions of the shop at agricultural shows and festivals in the past. “I’m sure we can do something similar on a longer-term basis at the farm, and reinstate the restaurant with a satellite kitchen.”
About 60 people worked at the Sunnyside Farm businesses. “Our staff have been brilliant,” said Simon, 38. “Everyone who heard about the fire came out on the night wanting to help, although there was nothing they could do.
“We have people still working for us who babysat me when I was little. You couldn’t ask for more devoted workers.
“We’re looking to keep everyone on, to help us get the businesses reopened as soon as possible.”
The family had submitted plans to expand the shop with large extensions to the front and rear. Now they expect to draw up plans for new buildings to see the business into a new era.
“Although we’re all stunned by what’s happened, we’re determined to create a better, stronger business out of the devastation,” Simon said.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us on: info@hinchliffes.com