 The Fields Between FAUNA and Aldcliffe Road: A Threat or an Opportunity?
 The Threat
We have learned that the fields between FAUNA and Aldcliffe Road are probably to be sold at auction in autumn 2010 (to see a full-size map click the image to the right). Although the fields are not currently marked for housing, it will be difficult to hold off development forever unless they are bought by people who are sympathetic to the local environment. If these fields are developed, we will lose a beautiful piece of countryside, and FAUNA will be ringed by housing and will lose most of the wetland birds and other wildlife which visit it.
The Opportunity
The total area likely to be sold is around 25 acres, and at up to £10,000 per acre we could not raise all the money needed to buy all the fields ourselves. Instead, we have entered into a cooperative arrangement with other local individuals and groups interested in keeping the fields green. This means we need to raise up to £100k by September 2010 to buy some of the fields, protect them in perpetuity and add them to FAUNA.
How much have we raised so far?
The thermometer shows the total raised in pledges since we began a quiet word-of-mouth campaign in mid-May 2010. At the latest update (16th July), we have already raised £49,150 in donations and pledges. The mid-section shows an estimated 20% extra to be raised by Gift Aid of a possible 28% which can be reclaimed, as not all donations and pledges may be eligible.
How can you contribute?
You can: -
- make a contribution right away, visit the Donate Now page
- pledge a contribution from yourself or your family
If you are willing to donate money to the Fields Fund, we will ask you to sign a pledge form, which will be available as soon as our legal advisers have approved the wording (as a charity we need to be especially careful to cover all eventualities). You can pledge any amount you can spare – our largest pledge so far is £3,000 from a single family, but of course we are delighted to accept pledges for any amount. To make a pledge please contact Oliver Fulton (01524 381880) or Mick Short (01524 63890) or email fields AT fairfieldassociation DOT org. If you’d like more information before deciding, we can talk it over with you. And if you are a taxpayer and tick the Gift Aid box, we will receive another 28p from HMRC (Inland Revenue) for every £1 given to the Fairfield Association (see the chart above). HMRC adds “if you pay higher rate tax you can claim extra relief on your donations. If you claim age-related allowances or tax credits, Gift Aid donations can sometimes increase your entitlement.” We will invite everyone who has pledged a contribution to come to a meeting to discuss practicalities, probably in early September.
- talk to friends and neighbours and encourage them to pledge a contribution or Donate Now
Hundreds of people walk along the canal or the ‘long pads’ footpath every week, or just look out on it from their windows, and we know that everyone loves our open countryside so close to Lancaster town centre. Many people are already looking forward to the opening of FAUNA, planned for spring 2011, and don’t want it spoiled by future development nearby.
take part in our sponsored cross-bay walk on Saturday, August 21st
You can get more details of the sponsored cross-bay walk here.
come to a fundraising event
Events being planned include a garden party, a concert, possibly even a dinner dance – watch this space for details.
organise your own fund raising event
This could be anything you like, such as getting sponsorship for your own project, or putting on an event, maybe as part of a group, where you charge admission or offer goods for sale. We will help to publicise any local events.
suggest other fundraising ideas to us
Please email fields AT fairfieldassociation DOT org
volunteer to help out in our campaign
Please email fields AT fairfieldassociation DOT org
How else will we raise the rest of the money?
Now that the campaign has gone public, with a front-page article in the Lancaster Guardian (11th June 2010), and an interview on BBC Radio Lancashire (17th June 2010) we are also:
- writing to local businesses, asking them to contribute
- applying to charitable trusts for financial support
WE CAN DO THIS IF WE REALLY WANT IT. GET INVOLVED!
Want to know more? Want to talk about it? Come to our public meetings!
We are having a first Public Meeting about the fields in the Friends Meeting House (next to Lancaster railway station), from 7.30 p.m. to 8.15 p.m. on Wednesday 23rd June. This meeting will be followed by the Fairfield Association AGM at 8.15 p.m.
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