Ex- Dragons' Den star Rachel Elnaugh is locked in a battle with angry locals with some claiming her new project is some form of 'cult' believing in a "food apocalypse" and the "Great Reset". Elnaugh has helped to create a community farm in the heart of the Peak District in Cressbrook Dale.
She has posted videos previously to her YouTube channel discussing what she described as "the great resolution to dissolve the Global Masterplan". The Bakewell native has an interest in astrology and tarot, has described the Covid pandemic as a "mass fear event" containing lots of "ridiculous new variants" of coronavirus, and has speculated that a fake alien invasion produced by Hollywood could be used to trigger a "global military response", reports Derbyshire Live.
A local campaign against the Cressbrook Dale plans says that the group's ambition is to live in the dale and "feed us all". However, Rachel has said the campaign is just "scaremongering" people and instead insists that the group's plans are to "enhance" the natural beauty on offer in the area.
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Described by Rachel as a quite "incredible vagina of land", Cressbrook Dale is a stunning dale just over from Monsal Head. The community wants to create a food forest, growing a plethora of vegetables, fungi, herbs and flowers - starting with planting things in the coming autumn.
While the area the project is being built on is public access land, last month the group signed a contract for the land in Cressbrook Dale after crowdfunding to raise the first instalment of money, and now have a year to raise the second half to pay to the previous landowners, the Stanton Estate.
Current changes to the 70-acre site include the installation of a teepee, a gravel path and the installation of wood and gravel stairs down a mud slope. But these changes have not only drawn criticism from locals but also seen the group be served with a notice from the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) stopping any work being carried out on the land without seeking the relevant planning consents for 28 days.
Locals opposed to the idea have started a campaign against the project stating that the plans would have an impact on the area's natural ecology and the "peace and wellbeing" of Cressbrook's villagers. Other fears include festivals being held on the site.
Derbyshire Live went to the village to speak to residents, who are not a part of the Save the Cressbrook Dale campaign. Local Paul Radcliffe, 74, said that the "peace and serenity" is what people love about the area and he is worried this would be damaged by the new community farm.
Annie Sanderson, 66, a resident in Cressbrook, described the project as a "disaster". She said: "The dale is beautiful, it is why people moved here. We were given no consultation, we just started seeing videos being posted by this group about a food apocalypse".
But the former Dragons' Den star says this is "propaganda". As our reporter was leaving Cressbrook Dale, he began chatting with a woman who turned out to be Rachel Elnaugh. Derbyshire Live originally contacted Rachel via email hoping to speak to her over the phone, but upon visiting the site we happened to bump into her.
She explained that the idea of holding festivals had been tabled to the group - who act as a community without a designated leader - but was put to bed quickly.
Rachel said: "It is a bit sad really, we don't intend to do anything that's going to damage the dale and in fact us being here, everything we've done has been quite beautiful. A lot of people have thanked us".
Currently at the entrance to the site there is a caravan parked opposite a newly crafted gravel patch. Campaigners for the Save Cressbrook Dale team have said seeing the work start has left many "emotionally traumatised". A spokesperson for the team said: "It is very hard to watch as lorry loads of gravel are delivered and destroy habitats.
"You discover that your new and very close neighbours have no regard for your feelings, health and wellbeing, for the preciousness of the land and for the institutions set up to protect what is important to all of us."
Hitting back at accusations that the group are destroying habitats, Rachel explained that the patch of gravel has been installed in an eco-friendly way which in a "month's time" will allow grass to grow through and cover the gravel. On top of this, the patch of land the gravel is on used to be a mud swamp used to place fodder for livestock.
"You would almost expect to see some form of nightmare skyscraper or some type of Alton Towers theme park rollercoaster or something crazy. I do appreciate that with any change there is fear and we have tried to reassure the local people it is not our intention to do any harm
"I feel everything we've done is a beautiful enhancement. We've put limestone gravel down because that is the rock of the land, so it blends in".
The group understands that people might be apprehensive about change to such a beloved area, but believe that once their vision is more developed, locals will support the idea. Rachel compared the process to redecorating a house. She said that when you're in the middle of decorating, everything is a mess, but by the end it looks better than it did at the start.
Since the project started in June 2022, the community farm has fallen victim to vandalism and theft. A poly-tunnel which had been constructed to grow tomatoes was destroyed, and a number of tools have been stolen from the site which resulted in bringing in an on-site caravan to store equipment.
The campaign against the project has stated that its objectives are entirely peaceful and it wants to halt the group's plans legally. The Save Cressbrook Dale campaign is currently talking to Natural England and the PDNPA about the project.
A spokesman for the National Park Authority said: “Following concerns over the nature of activities recently undertaken on land owned in Cressbrook Dale, the Peak District National Park Authority has served a Temporary Stop Notice (TSN), issued a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) and served a Planning Contravention Notice (PCN) questionnaire to the landowner, who now has a statutory period to respond.
"Senior officers from both the authority’s planning and ecology teams have also engaged with the landowner to discuss the works, and explain the importance of the sensitive habitats and the landscape value of the area.”
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