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updates hammonds farm community buy-out & closing date 24 July
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Here is an update on progress with acquisition and fund-raising
to buy Lot 3 of Hammonds Farm.


Dear Friends,
 
This Newsletter is for you and also to forward to any friends you think will be interested.

Thank you to all of you who have already so generously supported this Hammonds Farm community buy-out. The amount pledged to date of £250,000 approx is amazing, as is the speed with which you responded.

This is a reminder that the Share Offer closes on 24th July, so if you haven’t yet got round to investing, now is the time!

We have already put in a bid on the land and wait to hear if we are successful.
The high level of pledges enabled us to make a bid for Lot 3. However, to be convincing and ‘proceedable’ we need the money in as soon as possible.
 
Don’t forget to invite organisations you are members of to join and invest as organisations. Each organisation gets one vote, and it’s a good way of partnering. For example, Stroud Town Council is investing, as is Stroud Common Wealth -  to name a few.
So imagine having the chance to co-own a beautiful, productive farm bordering Stroud.  This land will help Stroud Community Agriculture further develop its successful community supported farm at Hawkwood College as a beacon for local food security, enabling more local families to buy fresh, healthy, organic  food.. and;
  • Develop a Starter Farm for young farmers and growers
  • Regenerate soil, wildlife and biodiversity
  • Protect the AONB and agricultural land from housing development
  • Educate and train in farming, horticulture, rural skills
  • Open up space for families to connect to nature and growing.
Martin Large of the BDLT said that we face two burning questions about our food security:
 - How will we get young farmers to grow the food we need? And,
 - How can we get land for the young farmers who do want to farm?’
At the 26th June Share Offer launch at Stroud Brewery, young farmer Sylvie Planel  told of her and Clare Whitney’s plan to develop a  Starter Farm, with Stroud Community Agriculture’s support .. But they need land!   As the average age of farmers is around 60, getting farmland for young farmers is vital.
Jade Bashford, Thrupp and SCA “We need land to belong to, and this is a golden opportunity to help young farmers get started, protect farmland and grow good food for local people.’
So we now have the amazing amount of approx £250,000 pledged in shares, gifts and loans of which about 10% has so far come through. So please keep it rolling in - all specific funds will be refunded if we are not able to complete on this sale for any reason.

We still need about another £55,000 beyond what is already offered, to achieve the bid-price along with the £75-80,000 from the Biodynamic Land Trust (and to cover the costs of acquiring the land).

So do harness all the goodwill you can find to help us get the £380,000 needed for buying the land and ancillary costs.

Can you volunteer
some time?
  • on a Saturday morning to help hand out leaflets, or
  • take some to your local hangout/social place/pub/club, or
  • collate information on the history of this land and send what you have to Martin?
Other volunteer help will be needed so do let us know your area of willingness or of expertise to help this project via the website or email.
 ‘The British have a particular affection for our countryside. Very few of us have the means to buy land or a slice of whichever bit of countryside we love most. Donating or investing in the Biodynamic Land Trust to acquire this farmland is a way  for us to buy that slice. We will know that it will be not only be nourished and cared for sustainably in the most nature friendly ways long after we've gone, but that it also nurtures and supports the farmers whom our lives depend on for healthy , nutritious  food. Through these schemes, land , people, the environment, wildlife , soils  all flourish - I can't think of a better deal.’
Lynda Brown, Box, Stroud
 
The green fingers of land that spread into the town parish boundaries of Stroud are important visually, for the sense of the town lying in five valleys and for the production of food. The opportunity to buy Lot Three of Hammonds Farm secures all these three aspects, offers work to future food producers and holds one of the green fingers in place for a community that cherishes them dearly and fights for them on a regular basis.
Camilla Hale, Uplands, Stroud

We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your support

Martin, Gabriel, Helen and Sarah


see our website for a wealth of information

For further information and your quesitons -  Please email:
  • Sarah for general information and forms,
  • Gabriel for more questions or a need to understand more,
  • Helen for loan information and complex finance questions,
  • Martin if you have a personal connection, feel he is the one, or would like to offer help regarding a bid on Lot 2

Tel 01453 766296 Tues-Friday (Gabriel)
 
Copyright © 2015 Biodynamic Land Trust, All rights reserved.


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