Greenbelt has an extraordinary opportunity to partner with West Newbury and a conservation buyer to preserve one of its most beloved farms, Brown Spring Farm. This bucolic 10-acre property, with its vivid white Victorian home surrounded by fields of hay and vegetables, has been the gateway to West Newbury for generations. Protecting Brown Spring Farm will preserve an important cornerstone of West Newbury's agricultural economy, and a reliable source of fresh, local food.
Greenbelt is partnering with the Town of West Newbury to acquire a conservation restriction (CR) on Brown Spring Farm (to be co-held by the Town and Greenbelt) that would eliminate additional development potential on the property, protect is natural resources, and ensure that the land is always available for farming. This proposal is possible because of a conservation buyer who wishes to acquire Brown Spring Farm as restricted by the CR to sustainably farm the land and sell produce at the farmstand. The CR will ensure that, whether rebuilt or restored, the home on the property must be similar in size and design to the home that exists now.
West Newbury residents will vote at Spring Town Meeting on April 29th whether to approve $200,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds toward the total CR purchase price of $403,500. Greenbelt has agreed to fundraise the remaining $203,500.