Sustainability At Whitehill House Farm

 

Whitehill House Farm is a fourth-generation, family-operated cattle

enterprise with a 90-year heritage, committed to sustainable agricultural

practices that promote land stewardship and foster biodiversity. Our

methodology encompasses growing crop silage for livestock feed,

conducting soil quality assessments, implementing field rotation, and

utilising tapered hedge cutting. We also cultivate wildflowers and

maintain bee hives, along with installing bat, owl, and swift boxes, as

well as integrated swift bricks in the new accommodation building—all

designed to enhance habitats and support wildlife diversity. The farm is

equipped with solar panels to help minimise energy consumption.

In line with our commitment to sustainability, we have repurposed a

disused stable and barn—utilising the existing footprint—to develop two

self-catering apartments, to offer as short term holiday lets, operational

by November 2025. The new building features traditional Northern Irish

farm design, with sash windows, red doors, and reclaimed Bangor Blue

roof slates. These accommodations will use advanced, energy-efficient

technology for sustainable living.

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These systems are air source heat pumps, solar panels, underfloor

heating and heat recovery systems. The solar panels will store the

generated energy in a battery, which is then used to run all electrical

appliances.

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Heating will be remotely controlled via an app, allowing individual room

scheduling and temperature adjustment. External LED lighting in the

carp park and outside terrace and grounds, is managed by timers, which

adapt to natural light availability and seasonal changes, thereby

reducing light pollution.

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Heat recovery systems extract heat from every room, filter the air, and

then return it to each space. Each room is equipped with extract and

input air vents in the ceilings.

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In addition to the farm’s ecological practices, we are actively involved

with a local secondary school, a church boy’s youth group and a primary

age youth group. All who have taken part in farming activities, farm visits

and planting trees with a view to educating future generations to

embrace sustainable living.