We recognise that there are different visions and ideas for the future of Bridge Farm, and that each of you is invested in Bridge Farm in an individual way. After submission of the planning application (which needed to be submitted within a funding deadline), we think it’s time to get together to discuss and decide on our way forward. Planning consent, if we get it, will represent the maximum possible changes we could make to the Farm buildings and surrounding land, and would also offer confirmation that we would be able to change the current use of the Farm land and buildings.
Time has come to consider deeply the ongoing business plan for Bridge Farm – i.e. how Bridge Farm will pay back its debts and fund itself and any future plans sustainably, into the future.
As a community-led initiative, we want to make space for ideas from the community – your ideas – of how to achieve this in a way that is consistent with the land, the ecology, the wider community, and the culture and history of the site.
At this meeting, we would welcome your input on:
• ideas for paying back the investment.
• alternative models for financing the restoration of the old buildings
• business plans involving the provision of housing on the Farm
• business ideas involving the Farm land and buildings
This meeting is for ideas generation and planning at a macro scale – i.e. for the whole site. Even if your ideas involve growing on the land, or conserving wildlife, for example, it would be great if you could come with ideas about how to pay back the full £780 000 that needs to be returned to Bridge Farm’s investors. We would also like to discuss how the site could be owned in future.
AVAG will not be able to give the go-ahead for individual business ideas at this meeting, although please feel free to bring these along to feed these into the overall business planning for the Bridge Farm community. If you have a business plan idea, then you can either volunteer to present it in a few minutes, or mention it as part of the more open discussion.
Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bridge-farm-business-planning-strategy-day-registration-137648013915
Agenda:
-13:30-14:05 Introduction, update on planning, current business situation.
-14:05 -14:35 Breakout discussion on what we mean by ‘community-led’ or ‘community’ in the context of the Bridge Farm project
-14:35-14:45 Comfort Break
-14:45-15:10 Short business plan ideas presented
-15:10-16:00 Open discussion session on business plan ideas
– 16:00-16:30 Discussion on ideas for better community engagement
Although it has become more difficult to meet up and enjoy each other’s company and a restorative meal together, we think it’s very important to move this conversation forward at this time. So, even if the meeting circumstances are not ideal, please do consider contributing your ideas at this extremely important juncture for the Farm. We do not want the Farm to have to be sold on to unscrupulous developers, and for this we need your help!
This meeting is scheduled as a Strategy Day for Saturday 6th February 13:30-16:30. We plan to have both open discussion and more structured discussion. There will be a 10 minute comfort break halfway through. If you would like to join the list to attend this meeting, please register via EventBrite. If you cannot attend the meeting on this date, but would like to feed in, please feel free to email avagwgs@gmail.com with your ideas instead!
