Campaigners have praised the 'wonderful' community response to an appeal to raise the last £30,000 needed to purchase Stroud's Heavens Valley, with the target amount having now been reached.
Solicitors are now in the process of drawing up the documents and finalising the details of the sale, but the group behind the campaign — the Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society (HVCBS) — is set to ramp up its fundraising efforts in order to repay two large loans made by members of the community to propel the cause toward its target.
Since the sale of Stroud's 120-acre Thrupp Farm, including beloved nature spot Heavens Valley, was announced by the landowner in March 2024, local councillors and residents have rallied to raise £850,000 to purchase it for the community, in order to prevent it from being sold to developers.
The HVCBS managed to raise £270,000 through donations and shares up to October 2024, with two members of the local community also stepping in to loan a combined £550,000 to the society, with the deadline to agree a sale looming.
That left the society £30,000 short of its target with just weeks to spare, with contracts needing to be exchanged in early November 2024.
In one last fundraising push, the society held a 'Raising the Spirits' community event on Friday 1 November 2024, at which — to cheers and the stamping of feet from the crowd — it was revealed that the target amount had indeed been reached.
The campaign's focus now shifts towards raising the £550,000 to repay the loans, with the two lenders technically owning part of the land once the purchase goes through.
Each chunk of money repaid will bring more of the land
fully into community ownership. More than 600 people have signed up to buy shares in the farm to help the cause with more signing up everyday, the society says.
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.'
Karen added: 'In the new year we will consult with the community for ideas about how to move forward.
'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.'
