Where does the money go now? By Charlotte

Mis-quote in the Guardian
I have had a couple of queries about the content in the article in yesterdays Guardian Newspaper that I would like to explain.

John Vidal, wrote a fantastic article about our campaign and the next stages. It mentions that in the future grants may be given to other Community Land projects across the country to give them a jump start.

I would like to clarify that this is not where your share money is going or will be going. If we are able to do this in the future then it will be as a result of increased revenues from the future Tea Rooms. In this case the Fordhall Community Land Initiative would be running at a significant profit, and as an Industrial and Provident Society these have to be re-invested within its aims and objectives.

I was asked where I would like to see the project in 15-20 years time. I said that it would be fantastic if all the current loans had been paid off, the educational facilities were all established and the Initiative was creating enough extra revenue to be able to contribute, possibly through grant aid, to other projects with the same aims and objectives as ourselves. This obviously was my own opinion and any such decisions would be made by a vote from the shareholders, but wouldn't it be fantastic if every child had the opportunity to part own a local farm that was easy for them to visit.

I am sorry if my answer mislead any of our shreholders. We are certianly not out of the woods yet as far as funds go and do not have huge pots of money to give away. Approximately, £300,000 of the money raised was through loans, whether they be the Triodos Loan or the Interest Free Loans from you, and these all have to be repaid. This is where incoming share money is going as a matter of priority.

After these have been repaid, income will go into providing the educational resources on the farm such as the Bunk House, and the resource room. These are vital aspects of the project, to not only provide a resource for you, but to help educate children and families on the importance of our English countryside and how our food is produced.

This is an exciting time for Fordhall. You have sent out an important message about the importance of Food and Farming in this country. You have shown that people really do care about where their food comes from, that people do not want all our natural green spaces buried under concrete for commercial development, and that you are thinking about the future of farming in this country. Farming must be sustainable to survive and it must work in balance with nature to be able to achieve this.

Please do continue to spread the word and to encourage others to buy shares.