June update

We are now officially registered as a Community Benefit Society - the Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society Ltd. The next step will be for us to register for ‘exempt charity’ status which will take a few weeks.

A Community Benefit Society (CBS) is a type of legal organisation that’s registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It is a not-for-profit business model organised on the principle of one-member, one-vote, so it will be perfect for community ownership.

As Thrupp Farm, came on to the market on 28 May the timing is significant. 

This means the group of residents and councillors, formed late last year, now has legal status and a further stage, to give the Heavens Valley Community Benefit Society Limited society charitable status, is expected to conclude in a few weeks. This will mean we'll be eligible for Gift Aid on donations from UK tax payers, making every donation worth 25% more.

Once the charitable status is confirmed, we’ll be setting up a crowd-funding platform and contacting everyone who has made non-binding pledges of money, to ask them to go over to the platform and put in their bank details so that, when the time is right, the pledges will be converted into actual donations.  

Co-coordinator of the group, Karen Thomas, explains: “We will only be asking people for their money when we are in a water-tight position to buy Thrupp Farm. 

“This is a really exciting time for us as we have finally evolved from an informal group of campaigners into a legally constituted society. If all the pledges made so far by generous supporters are converted into cash, we will have raised more than £250,000 towards the purchase of Thrupp Farm.”

Fundraising update 

Wow! - more that £250,000 has now been pledged - thank you so much to everyone for your overwhelming generosity! We’re about to launch a new fundraising campaign - watch this space!