Glastonbury, Somerset
In December 2010, after long negotiations, we signed a Development Agreement with the then owners, South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) to undertake a first stage programme of work to make the building safe and waterproof. This work was undertaken by Ecos Homes, with help from volunteers.
The local communities of Glastonbury, Street and surrounding villages had worked hard to raise finance so the project could progress to the next stage. This was amazingly successful. We launched a community share offer in December 2010, and attracted 180 local shareholders who raised £105,000 by the closing date of February 28th 2011. We created an innovative RBBC Investors Club and five local investors have between them contributed £215,000. We had a loan of £40,000 from the Co-operative and Community Finance Company (fully repaid) and have received local grants.
