The Fordhall Community Land Initiative

Allowing YOU to OWN Fordhall Farm
Shares are Still available - Help us to re-pay the loans

"The Fordhall Community Land Initiative reaffirms the relationship between the landscape and the way it shapes the prosperity of rural communities. It seeks to demonstrate that small-scale farming connected to the local community offers a viable way of life for generations to come."

 

Whats it all about?

The Fordhall Community Land Initiaitve is an industrial and Provident Society with charitable status. It is currently owned by over 8000 shareholders from across the UK and indeed the world. This society owns all of Fordhall Farm.

The Hollins family have farmed the land here for generations but only ever as tenants. Without the ability to purchase the farm themselves, they have placed it into community ownership.

Charlotte and Ben Hollins, at 25 and 23 years of age respectively, are now tenants of the Fordhall Community Land Initiative. They live in the farm house and they manage the farm land and the livestock. The farm shop is a commercial business run by Charlotte and Ben, from which they pay the rent and derive their income.

The Fordhall Community Land Initiative and its 8000 odd shareholders work in partnership with the farmers to develop Fordhall as an educational resource making the most of its organic heritage and wildlife attributes. This is an exciting and pioneering project with what we hope to be wide-reaching benefits. We hope to use Fordhall to re-connect people to food, the environment and most importantly farming.

Already happening are regular volunteer weekends, events, school visits, nature trail and picnic area access. Soon will be a local/organic food tea rooms, bunk house and classroom, but for moment we have lovely locally made yurts...

THE VISION - PHASE TWO

The Bunk House, Local/organic food tea rooms, educational resource room still need to be built. These will be built from sustainable and recycled materials where possible, and of course using renewable energy. We even hope to invovle you in the the building of them - watch this space! All funds from future shares sold will enter these projects to provide resources for you.

DOWNLOAD THE PROSPECTUS HERE

Whats happened so far?

The Fordhall Community Land Initiative is a charity established by Charlotte and Ben Hollins in 2005 (see about us) to initially save Fordhall Farm from development, which has been chemical free for over 65 years.

It was announced by the BBC on Friday 30th June that Fordhall had been saved from development and placed into community ownership forever. With our first deadline and target achieved we move on to the next stages of the project with a new ethusiasm and energy.

How was the money raised?

We raised the majority of the money through the sale of shares and donations. This amounted to £500,000 which is a staggering amount to raise through thousands of small people grouping together to make a stand, showing a full grain of support for the protection of our English countryside.

The remainding £300,000 has been made up through loans.
£100,000 a bank loan from Triodos
£239,000 Interest Free Loans from you as shareholders over 5 yrs from 2006.

So what for the Future?

Initially, we need to repay all of the loans. These have been an enormous help in raising the amount of money we needed to secure the farm within the tight deadline we had. However, the longer we take to repay them the more interest we they are gathering.

All shares sold after the deadline are contributing to the repayments of these loans. So please do keep spreading the word and buying shares!

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Be part of something exciting.

You can make a difference.

Stand up for what you believe in.

Be enthused!

 

Fordhall Community Land Initiative
is registered in England and Wales as an Industrial and Provident Society. Reg No. 30030R

It is registered with Inland Revenue as an Exempt Charity.
Ref. No: XR91116