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Packed public meeting agrees to pursue community purchase of The Heavens

The Subscription Rooms, Stroud’s largest venue – was packed on Monday night for the public meeting held to discuss the future of the Heavens Valley.

The aims of the meeting were to share information about the work done so far by the Heavens Valley Action Group, to gain residents’ feedback and ideas, and to get a sense of how committed the community is to helping fund a purchase of the land.

Action group co-ordinator Martin Whiteside told the audience: “We are not criticising the present owner, we just want to ensure continued access after a sale.”

The group was set up late last year in response to rumours that the land was to be sold. The sale was later confirmed as due to go ahead and the HVAG has met with the owner’s agent to express the community’s interest in buying the land. The land was expected to be put on the market in early March but this is now understood to have been put back a month.

The campaign has gained the support of several high-profile organisations, all the local councillors for the wards where the land is situated, and three parliamentary candidates.

The land is in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and partly because there is restricted road access, is not suitable for development. It is however much valued by th local community and has significant nature and landscape value.

Action so far

Karen Thomas outlined various steps that have been taken by the HVAG, to protect community access in the longer term.

1.. An Asset of Community Value application has been lodged with Stroud District Council. If successful, the application will give the community breathing space of six months in which to raise enough money to make an offer to buy the land. But that does not mean the offer will be accepted; the owner can choose to sell to someone else. The application process could take six to eight weeks.

2…Applications are about to be submitted to the County Council for the unofficial footpaths to be registered as Public Rights of Way.

3…Applications for Tree Preservation Orders are about to be submitted for any trees of particular importance. If successful, the applications mean the trees in question could not be felled or lopped without permission from the council.

The Way Forward

Martin Whiteside stressed that the best protective measure would be to buy the land.

A show of hands at the meeting expressed near-unanimous approval from the community for the action group to raise money to buy as much of the 102 acre farm as possible.

If insufficient funds are raised to buy all the farm there was also a show of hands in support of buying as much as possible and to work with other potential owners who share our values to enable other parts of the farm to be bought.

How we propose funding the purchase

HVAG member James Bentley, who is a lawyer, said the proposed method of funding the purchase is for HVAG to become a Charitable Community Benefit Society and then launch a share issue, enabling residents to buy a share in the land.

A CBS is like a business, with directors and shareholders, except that it operates solely for the benefit of the community and that of the public at large. Shareholders can never own more than one share, so no-one can ever acquire a majority ownership. Stroud Common Wealth and Stroud Community Agriculture are examples of local organisations that operate as Charitable CBSs.

Residents at the meeting were asked to fill out forms indicating if they would be willing to buy a share.

The share issue is unlikely to cover the entire cost, so donations and other fundraising will still be needed.

In the meantime, the group is looking for bridging loans or major donations to fund the initial purchase.

Meanwhile, until the CBS is operating, Stroud Valleys Project, which is a registered charity, is accepting donations on its behalf. SVP chief executive Clare Mahdiyone spoke at the meeting about her support for the HVAG campaign, saying: “We have been managing public open space since 1988 and we hope we can look after this one too.”

Members of the audience pointed out that both the Sub Rooms itself and the Oakbrook Community Farm were brought into public ownership thanks to contributions from the community, so there is every chance we can succeed. As one member of the audience said, "This community has form for pulling together."

In summary

Summing up the meeting, action group member Ben Challis said: “A lot of people have, like me, grown up in the Heavens. A lot have come more recently and fallen in love with the place. It’s so important to the whole community.

“We know from what happened at Verney Fields and Juniper Hill Field the potential risks of land being sold. If this land was fenced off or parcelled up it would be a tragedy. We have the opportunity to do something that will leave a lasting legacy.

Everyone has a stake in this. When things really matter our community comes together and does amazing things, and this is one of those moments. This is the start of something; let’s save the Heavens together.”

Q. Given the focus on public access, what can be done to make the Heavens more physically accessible, for residents with disabilities?

A. We will look into how parts of the site could be made accessible for people with disabilities.

Q. How can increased access by humans be balanced with the potential harm to biodiversity that has been seen on Rodborough and Minchinhampton Commons?

A.. It’s a difficult balancing act, as the National Trust would agree. Essentially, the more open green spaces that people have access to, the less this is an issue.

Q. How might the land be used?

A.. There have been a wide variety of suggestions, with conservation grazing most vital to manage the grasslands for biodiversity. Others include laying more hedges, planting a community orchard, creating allotments for food production, and creating a green burial site.

Q… Are the Horns Road stables and fields part of the sale?

A… No. That land adjoins the area being sold but is not part of it.

Q.. How will the ongoing maintenance costs of the land be funded?

A… We are investigating various grants – potentially including under the Biodiversity Net Gain scheme.

Q.. Can young people be explicitly involved in decision-making following a purchase; for example could one of the directors have to be under 25?

A.. That kind of youth involvement could be written into the rules of the CBS.

Q.. Could the local council maintain the land?

A… That’s unlikely, given the financial pressures that councils face. However, we have the support of both Stroud Town Council and Brimscombe &Thrupp Parish Council, and of district and county councillors.

Q… How will income be generated?

A… There are lots of grants we could potentially be eligible for, possibly including the Biodiversity Net Gain scheme and funding under health and wellbeing schemes. It’s a case of constantly applying for whatever grants are available, and SVP, which has extensive experience of doing this, will be advising.

Q.. Will more vehicular access have to be provided?

A.. Currently the only vehicle access is for agricultural purposes, via the private drive of Thrupp Farm. We see the relative inaccessibility of the land as a plus point as the fact of having to walk into the Heavens is part of its appeal; it makes visitors feel safe.

Q… Who else is interested in buying the land?

A… We understand there are likely to be other potential buyers but we don’t know anything definite yet..

Q.. Do you have a land agent working for you?

A.. Yes, we have been offered the services of a land agent, on a pro bono basis. But if anyone else has experience in land purchase we would be interested in talking to them.

Q.. As time goes on, the number of shareholders will diminish. How can the original number of shares be maintained?

A.. This issue is covered in the ‘model rules’ of the CBS.

Q… How much will shares cost?

A.. We have no fixed ideas about this. We are currently proposing that each share is priced at £50, to enable us to raise enough money, but we are aware that some people could not afford that much. People can club together to buy a share as it is one share/one vote but the share, we believe, could be owned by multiple people such as a family or a club. We must stress again that we are in the very early days of investigating this and nothing is ‘set in stone’ at the moment.

Q.. What is the best livestock for grazing purposes to ensure maximum biodiversity, and what are the financial implications?

A… We are taking advice from the National Trust about this. It seems likely that cattle will be the best option, for a number of reasons. There are issues around fencing land for grazing purposes and we are exploring these.

Q.. Have you approached local employers for donations?

A.. We would love to talk to employers with a view to asking for funding, and welcome any introductions.

Q.. Could a buyer fence off public rights of way to prevent people straying off the official paths?

A.. This is precisely the sort of issue that has been seen at Verney Fields and Juniper Hill Field locally, and it is why we are looking to purchase the land ourselves.

Q.. Isn’t there a presumption that land is public space if it has been used by the public for a long time?

A… This is the premise behind a ‘village green’ designation, which has been applied for at Verney Fields. We are liaising with the campaigners at Verney Fields about their experience. However, this process takes a long time, is very complex and doesn’t give any protection while the application is ongoing. For this reason our preferred option is to purchase the land.

Q.. What are the issues around liability if, for example, a tree falls and injures a member of the public? With ash die-back so prevalent is this an issue?

A.. Successful claims involving this kind of situation are extremely rare, but any such claims would be dealt with under the landowner’s public liability insurance.

We believe that ash die-back can be managed to prevent it being a significant safety issue at the Heavens.

Q.. What kind of help are you looking for? What skills do people need to get involved?

A.. We are open to offers of all kinds of help; anything from website maintenance to fundraising. Please get in touch if you have particular skills that might be helpful.

Q… What guarantee is there that the land, once purchased by the community, cannot later be sold off?

A… Under the rules of a charitable CBS, the land could only ever be disposed of to a charity or other CBS. As a CBS we would be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, which would take legal action and seek repayment from any director who tried to dispose of the land inappropriately.

Q… Why have you restricted the area covered by the Asset of Community Value application to the core ‘Valley’ area that leads up to the waterfall? Why not apply for the entire 102 acres to be protected?

A.. We originally applied for the whole site to be registered; however we were advised that this stood little chance of success as we would have to prove that the entire site – including the woodland and the barns - had been continuously used by the public for more than 20 years. This would have been impossible to do, whereas we can provide ample evidence of continuous usage of the core area. Of course, in an ideal world, we would like to buy the entire site.

Q.. Could the land be gifted to the council in perpetuity to manage, as Daisy Bank park was in the 1800s?

A.. That would be in the gift of the current owner, it is not clear that the Council has the appetite or resources to take the land management on.

Q.. How would we propose to address the potential increase in anti-social behaviour as the Heavens gets better known? Eg, littering, excessive drinking, and disposable BBQs.

A.. The group is hoping that, as the community pulls together, it will also come together to possibly volunteer to help look after the land.

Q.. Would we consider selling the lower field nearest Gunhouse Lane, to the district council to build social housing on, which would create revenue to repay loans or to pay for ongoing maintenance? (There is already road access of a sort.)

A..It is very unlikely that Planning Permission would be granted for any such development and access is an issue.

Q.. Are we in touch with Fromehall Mill to take advice on how their fundraising mechanism works?

A..We are making contact with a number of schemes raising funds for community purchase

Q… Can shares be passed on in people’s wills, or otherwise passed to other people than the original purchaser?

A..We believe so

Q… There will inevitably be more visitors as the Heavens becomes better known as a place that the public are free to access. What will be the impacts on neighbouring roads (eg Bowbridge Lane, Highfield Road and Horns Road) of additional visitors arriving by car and needing somewhere to park – and how do you propose to mitigate these impacts?

A…We believe the essence of the Heavens will remain the same, with the majority of the community accessing the land by foot. However, it is something we will bear in mind.

Q.. Would you consider providing visitor amenities such as a café or visitor centre?

A…Never say never, but this would be many years down the line.