Luxurious log cabin for our staff that really feels like home

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How does one of the UK’s largest tomato growers ensure some of their most valued staff have a beautiful home and local planners are kept happy?  They turn to Norwegian Log Buildings. 

R & L Holt, a family business that has grown tomatoes since the early 1980s in the Vale of Evesham and now supplies many of the major supermarkets, needed to provide quality accommodation for their on-site supervisors who have been with the company for 11 years. The firm wanted to replace their aging mobile home with a modern building at their rural Springhill Nurseries site, but strict planning restrictions limited what they could acquire.

The solution is a luxurious mobile log cabin, allowable as a dwelling under an agricultural tie, which now sits at the edge of the nursery, overlooking a picturesque pond. It also has a clear view of the comings and goings on-site – essential for business security and safety.  “As you can see it from the main A-road, we have a lot of people stopping and enquiring about it and wanting to know where they can get one,” laughs Roly Holt, who helps run the business with his family.

He explains: “Due to planning restrictions on site, we knew a log cabin, which provided enough living space and which also blended in with the natural landscape, would suit us and the local planning authority. We got in touch with Norwegian Log Buildings and spoke to the sales team who provided a design and layout to submit for planning. They were excellent and liaised directly with our planning consultant.”

It took just six weeks to erect the Alpine log home log home which is now occupied by site supervisors Yuri and Victoria, and their young daughter. “Our staff were involved with the design at the planning stage and were really pleased with the team that built it and the quality of the build,” says Roly. A sleek open plan kitchen/living area leads out onto decking that overlooks the neighbouring pond. The building also boasts a family bathroom and two spacious bedrooms.

“It has provided our loyal staff with accommodation that really feels like home and it is somewhere they always look forward to going back to at the end of the working day. What more could you ask for,” adds Roly.

Fact file

• R&L Holt has 22 acres of glasshouses on three sites near Evesham. In just one greenhouse alone, they have 228,000 tomato vines.
• It produces delicious cherry, on-the-vine, classic, baby plum and cocktail tomatoes.
• The sites are run as efficiently as possible using renewable heating/power schemes and LED lighting.
• All leaves and waste from the tomato plants are fed into an on-site anaerobic digester which produces heat for the site and power for the local electricity grid.
• Water is harvested and recycled.
• For further information on planning for log buildings and agricultural ties, read our advice page.