News / bristol city council
Hartcliffe Community Farm ‘seriously threatened’
More than 800 people have signed a petition to save Hartcliffe Community Farm, which faces closure if proposals to slash £15,000 of funding go ahead.
The volunteer-run site is one of the largest of its kind in the country and has been working for decades to welcome thousands of visitors free-of-charge and provide numerous education opportunities.
Chair of the farm Lorraine Horgan says it is “seriously threatened” by Bristol City Council plans to cut its grant funding and has hit out of the authority for its lack of communication and making what she has called a “judgement call” on the matter.
is needed now More than ever
The council is reviewing its allocation of £3.29m worth of grant funding and is set to make a decision on proposals at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Horgan said: “We were told we were losing the grant about nine days ago. The council is now giving us three months notice – this is the minimum it is allowed to give.
“As we are a volunteer-led organisation, our volunteers completed the application – we cannot afford professional fundraisers like many of the other organisations.”
She said the council made the decision based on the farm losing one mark on a question and claims there has been no dialogue, appeal or clarification process.
The farm has two part-time staff, about 30 to 40 regular volunteers and many who attend work placements, as part of their NVQ studies, or to gain experience of working with animals.
It is also home to more than 100 animals, including cows, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, geese, ducks, peacocks, rabbits and guinea pigs.
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “Cabinet will decide tonight how to allocate grants worth £3.29m from the Bristol Impact Fund to help the city’s most disadvantaged people.
“The voluntary sector has been a partner in this process from the start and a panel including five independent organisations helped to assess the bids.
“Improving the voice of equalities groups in the city is an important part of this work and it is recommended that £140,000 is reserved to commission this work. This is proposed because, with the exception of one, no bids demonstrated the level of equalities voice and influence needed.
“Of course there is only a finite amount of funding available and we realise that sadly some bidders won’t be successful. In those cases, officers will provide detailed feedback to help them strengthen future bids and try to connect them to other potential funders.”
Find out more and sign the petition by visiting: www.savehartcliffefarm.weebly.com
Read more: Bristol City Council required savings rise to £100m
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