Spilmans Farm – Ensuring Safety, Compliance & Business Continuity
Background
Spilmans Farm is a well-established family attraction in North Yorkshire, known for its seasonal events, Pick-Your-Own experiences, café, farm shop and family amusements. Their annual Pumpkin Festival is a major revenue generator—not only for Spilmans, but also for surrounding local businesses that benefit from the substantial visitor footfall.
Prior to working with FM-Partnership, Spilmans were supported by another outsourced health and safety provider. However, ahead of the 2025 festival, the farm’s insurers reviewed the provider’s risk assessments and deemed them unsuitable, resulting in a refusal to insure the event. This placed the festival, and its associated income, in serious jeopardy.
Our Involvement
The existing provider, unable to commit the necessary time and resources, approached FM-Partnership for urgent support. Our consultants immediately reviewed the full suite of risk assessments and supporting documents. Significant amendments and improvements were made to align the documentation with both legal requirements and insurer expectations.
The revised assessments were submitted back to the client, who then forwarded them to their insurers. Insurers responded positively, stating the updated documentation was “a lot better,” and as a result, the Pumpkin Festival was approved for insurance and able to proceed as planned.
Impressed by the clarity and quality of FM-Partnership’s work, Spilmans decided to formally retain our services. As their director commented:
“It is as clear as night and day between our previous health and safety consultant and FM-Partnership.”
Incident Response & Investigation
Just two days after becoming an FM-Partnership client, Spilmans contacted us regarding a serious incident at the festival. A fairground contractor—previously vetted with the appropriate checks and insurance—had subcontracted a replacement ride without notifying Spilmans or FM-Partnership. During early operation of this ride, a child fell from a carriage.
Spilmans acted immediately, closing the ride and notifying FM-Partnership. The following morning, our consultants were on site to conduct a comprehensive investigation. This included:
- Taking detailed witness statements
- Photographing the scene and equipment
- Gathering and preserving all relevant evidence
- Reviewing contractor documentation and actions
- Establishing the root cause and identifying preventative measures
During the investigation the subcontracted ride was removed by the contractor, but sufficient evidence had already been secured. FM-Partnership produced a thorough, concise investigation report, which was passed to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to support their own enquiries.
Outcome
The HSE concluded that Spilmans had carried out all required due diligence and had appropriate processes and controls in place. FM-Partnership’s pre-event risk management work, combined with our rapid and robust incident investigation, provided clear proof that Spilmans had acted responsibly and met their legal obligations.
As a result:
- Spilmans were found to have no case to answer.
- The event continued safely with heightened assurance and improved controls.
- The client gained confidence in their health and safety management moving forward.
Conclusion
This case demonstrates FM-Partnership’s commitment to:
- Providing high-quality, insurer-ready risk assessments
- Protecting business-critical events through competent safety management
- Responding quickly and professionally in emergency situations
- Supporting clients with clear, accurate and defensible documentation
Through proactive guidance and effective incident management, FM-Partnership helped secure not only the safety of visitors at Spilmans Farm, but also the future of a vital local event.