A council-run farm which supports people with learning disabilities will receive a £353,000 investment to further enhance its farming and horticultural experience.
Nottinghamshire County Council will pump the money into Linby's Brooke Farm, which hopes to create more training opportunities for people with disabilities.
Th farm supports people with learning disabilities and Asperger’s Syndrome to gain horticulture skills through growing seasonal produce and plants.
It is hoped the improvements will reduce annual running costs and will increase the range of work experience opportunities available to trainees.
Brooke Farm’s fruit and vegetables are also grown at a site at Skegby which is earmarked for housing as part of the Ashfield District Local Plan.
It is proposed to vacate this site and support work trainees based there to move to the improved Brooke Farm or another site at Balderton.
Two heavily subsidised services which offer garden maintenance work to Council facilities, private locations and residents are also proposed to close as they are not commercially viable in a competitive market with falling customer numbers.
It is hoped the three proposals, which staff, service users and the public will be consulted on, will reduce annual running costs up to £249,000.
It is proposed the maintenance services’ eight employees with disabilities are offered paid positions at Brooke Farm for up to four years where they will receive extra training and support to find alternative permanent jobs.
