Farm on the fast lane is not the result of motorway planners’ revenge on a greedy farmer after all

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The farm in the middle of the M62 has been the subject of numerous urban myths since the motorway opened in the 1970s.

Ken Wild, who owned Stott Hall farm, was holding on for more compensation, but lost out when the planners decided to go around rather than through the property, according to one theory.

Sadly, the truth is somewhat less dramatic. A newly unearthed documentary made for Yorkshire Television in 1983 revealed the real reason. Presenter Michael Clegg told viewers: “A geological fault beneath the farmhouse meant it was more practical for engineers to leave it rather than blast through and destroy it.”

Wild said: “It looked like we would have to move, but they found out that they couldn’t get all six lanes together.”

As a result, the carriageways were built around the farm, which Wild’s father had first leased in 1934. The land, which is 1,100ft above sea level, has been farmed since 1737.

The episode of Clegg’s People has been released by the British Film Institute as part of its Britain on Film collection.

Although the motorway avoided the farm, he told Clegg that some 70 acres of land were lost to the construction.

Engineers had to build underpasses to allow the farmer to access the part of his land that was not sandwiched between the six lanes of traffic.

Wild died in 2004 and the farm is now run by Paul and Jill Thorp, who were not put off by the constant roar of traffic outside their house.

Paul Thorp told the BBC that Stott Hall had become something of an unofficial services on what is the UK’s highest motorway: “People running out of petrol; coming and wanting to buy petrol and diesel; wanting to borrow spanners and jacks ... If I’ve got some petrol I’ll sell them some. I’ll try to help anybody out. It’s just not a nice spot to be, at the side of the road, especially if it’s rough weather. I can’t afford to give the petrol away though.”

The 107-mile motorway, which links Liverpool and Manchester to Leeds and Hull, was opened in stages between 1971 and 1976.