The Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society (HVCBS) has now raised enough money to go ahead with the purchase of Thrupp Farm in Stroud, writes Sue Fenton.
A recent appeal helped raise an extra £30,000 which boosted HVCBS coffers to £300,000, which combined with loans from two unnamed people, have contributed bridging funding, will fund the £850,000 purchase cost.
The purchase will be the end of the first phase of the campaign to bring the Heavens Valley into community ownership. This phase has seen more than £300,000 donated and more than 600 people buying shares so far, with more shareholders signing up every day.
The next phase will be to raise a further £550,000 to repay the loans, as technically, the lenders will own some of the site until repayments are completed; each chunk of money repaid will bring more of the land fully into community ownership.
Karen Thomas, one of the HVCBS team negotiating the purchase said: “Our lenders want this beautiful land to be completely owned by the CBS as they are themselves part of the local community and are not in a position to manage large areas of public land themselves. So we will be redoubling our fundraising efforts and we are confident that the community will continue its support.
“In the new year we will consult with the community for ideas about how to move forward,” Karen added. “We all love the Heavens and we all have our own vision of what this beloved landscape should look like. There are so many amazing possibilities, especially once we, as a community, own the entire 102 acres.”
