Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2007 | Page 62
life
FEATURE
Phil Legge
finally gets the
go ahead
to upgrade
Brickfields
Photo: Left Phil Legge, Matt Legge and Simon
Legge with daughter Madeleine.
It took four and a half years and a lot of negotiation with the local planning
department. The outcome was going to be the deciding factor as to whether
or not Phil Legge continued to run Brickfields. Luckily for the equestrian
world on the island the planning department eventually saw the light.
Phil Legge, owner of Brickfields
Horsecountry, knows how
his horses feel. He has spent
the last four years jumping
over ever more challenging
hurdles in his battle to get
planning consent to develop
the centre. And finally, in the
last week of July, the council
has approved his application.
He has won the jump-off.
At last Phil has got his longsought chance to reinstate
Brickfields as one of the Island’s
top all-year attractions, for
locals and tourists alike.
“It is such a relief to be
able to tell the staff, and my
customers, that finally we’re
going to do all the things that
needed doing after having to
curve their enthusiasm for all
this time. I’ve had to be patient,
it’s my business: but they
didn’t. We lost some customers,
but many have stuck by us.
They’ve been fantastic.”
What the planning department
has finally, and unanimously,
agreed to, is a complete facelift
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for Brickfields. A smart new
frontage will replace the current
agricultural look, and a new
side delivery entrance will mean
the public do not have to come
into contact with lorries. The
arena will be made 60ft longer,
making it international sized,
which means equestrian events
can be bigger and better. Two
sessions of riding lessons will
run simultaneously on busy
Saturdays too. There will be
tiered seating for spectators,
enabling easy viewing during
lecture demonstrations.
The work will enable Phil
to develop other sides to the
business, which he built from
scratch 25 years ago. Visitors
will come into a smart reception
area with gift shop, and above
there will be eight en suite bed
and breakfast rooms. “It will
be ideal for people wanting
an equestrian-based holiday,
and will mean we will be able
to accommodate judges
and lecturers,” says Phil.
He is also looking forward
to building a new carriage
museum. “I’ve been offered
a unique carriage collection
from the mainland – on
loan too, so I don’t have
to pay for it!” Phil says.
a point of saying I’d made a
great job of Brickfields. The
planners were nervous about
the issue of out-of-town retail
outlets and didn’t want me to
develop the retail side first.
But every time we came back
to them with the modification
we thought they wanted, at the
cost of £1,500 or so each time,
they asked for something else.”
This seems a bit of a drop
in the ocean when you look
at the costs involved with the
ambitious plans for Brickfields.
The constant delays since his
first application means Phil
has had to re-do his sums.
“I’ll have to get my builder to
quote all over again. I reckon
it’ll be 8-9 per cent more. My
original forward forecast could
not have foreseen the huge
hike in the price of steel and
concrete. Interest rates have
risen hugely too, and grants
that were available three years
ago have now dried up.”
Although he is delighted now
to be able to go ahead, the
whole process has wearied him.
“If I had known four years ago
how arduous it was going to
be, I wouldn’t have started. It’s
knocked the stuffing out of me.
“All this has made me
understand why things just
don’t get done in England.
In France planning takes six
to seven months, in Australia
something can be up and
running in no time. If you’re
a bit of a risk-taker with a
good idea you are going
to lose the vision and the
energy. Which is a shame.”
Brickfields Horse Country,
Newnham Road, Ryde.
Tel: 01983 566801
“I was genuinely surprised
when the application was first
rejected: the council made
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