Learn, Work & Grow together at Bridgend Farmhouse

Aim

We want to ensure Bridgend Farmhouse is a successful and thriving community hub where the whole community can learn, work and grow together.

Who and why:

Learning, working and growing together to develop a flourishing community and place.

Bridgend Farmhouse is a charity set up to renovate a much-loved 18th century farm steading on the South side of Edinburgh and then open it as a locally owned and run community hub. 

Bordering  Craigmillar Castle Park  between the housing estates of Craigmillar, Inch, Moredun and Gilmerton,  we are ideally located to forge a strong community spirit, and to build on the area’s history of community action.

Our vision is to become a hub to help people live a healthier, more-connected life.

We want to support  people to develop positive networks and healthy relationships, through creative activities: coming together to grow food, build a bothy, fix a bike, act on local issues, and more, which enable people to flourish. We want to create opportunities and help people get good jobs in the city elsewhere through giving them great training opportunities. 

We’ve been working since 2010 to develop and build our community around the project. The City of Edinburgh Council transferred the ownership of the building and land to us for £1 and grant funding from the Big Lottery Fund with support from Historic Environment Scotland paid for the restoration of the main farmhouse and built four new workshops. But they didn’t cover the total costs of restoring a very old building.

This is where you come in: we still need some money to pay for all the final restoration costs, and, as with all successful business start-ups, we need some capital to underwrite this early phase as we begin trading. If we can raise at least £50,000 through this share offer, we will be able to:

• Complete all the costs of the restoration
• Be able to meet our core costs for the next year while we establish other income streams
• Run the café and training kitchen for longer hours each week 
• Support two additional staff roles; a full-time admin and finance worker and a part-time janitor/care-taker
• Develop the enterprise and hub now, so we can put more of our income back in to securing the future of the project.

We believe that everyone should be able to access our courses, drop-ins and events for little or no cost.

Now we want to assure Bridgend Farmhouse as a successful community hub and social enterprise centre, run by staff and volunteers together and owned and controlled by the local community. To do this we are offering you the opportunity to buy a share in Bridgend Farmhouse Ltd, a Community Benefit Society registered with the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR) no. SC048396 and with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) no. 7683.

Invitation to Invest

By buying a “community share” you will have a voice in how the farmhouse and all its exciting activities are run – the training kitchen and café, the workshops, the garden, the education and skills programmes, the arts and music and special events.

How it works:

Each share is worth £1, and you can buy any amount between 25 and 5000. 

It’s one shareholder, one vote,  so all shareholders have an equal say at the Annual General Meeting and on any decisions.  

After 5 years,  we will begin to issue an annual  return of up to 2% on your investment,  redeemable against Bridgend Farmhouse Goods and Services.  The rate of return will be dependent upon the level of our success each year. You will then also have the opportunity to cash your share in should you wish to.   

If you are a tax payer, you may be able to get 50% of your investment back through a tax-incentive scheme to encourage investment in social and new enterprises. We have written to HMRC and we have a letter of assurance that our share offer qualifies for this.

So, roll up and let’s make this lovely old farmhouse a vibrant hub of community life.

Our Aims:

• Community development through active citizenship, shared ownership of the land and buildings, and volunteering.
• Education and training in the community, particularly in the outdoors and local environment.
• To improve health, both physical and mental, and address health inequalities and social isolation. To support people to live happy, healthy and enriched lives.
• To support and enable arts, culture, and the heritage of the farmhouse.
• To promote equality and diversity in all its forms.
• To encourage environmental protection, bio-diversity and the enjoyment of Craigmillar Castle Park and promote sustainable development and living practices.

At Bridgend Farmhouse we are committed to delivering our vision to ensure our now renovated farmhouse exists as a sustainable community-owned centre for learning, eating and exercise, where all can learn, work and grow together to develop a flourishing community and place. 

We hope you will join us on this journey and become a share holder today.

• For more information about our organisation and all of the projects that are currently running explore our website at www.bridgendfarmhouse.org.uk 
• You can also download all the documents relating to the Share Issue from here, including the full Share Issue Brochure and FAQs. 
• For more information about community shares go to: communityshares.org.uk 

This project successfully funded on 20th November 2018