Save Davis Kickabout
Sale of Davis Kickabout
The area of open land below Larkhill Rise in Badger Farm is the Davis Kickabout area. It has been announced for sale at auction, currently set as 22nd April 2021, with a reserve value of £5000.
We need your help to buy it for the benefit of residents.
Latest news
Donations, Refunds and Retentions
20 July 2021: We are working our way through the requests for refund of donations and again would ask you bear with us as this is necessarily a slow process for us (and we must not get it wrong so there is a lot of double checking the checking going on). It is a manual process we have to carry out and not one automated through Crowdfunder. We only have 2 part-time staff who are doing this in addition to their usual work so it is necessarily slow.
If you have contacted us, but have not received an acknowledgement, we apologise and please do contact us again with your instructions as per below.
We note that some donors have not advised us of what they wish us to do with their donations. The options are:
- Anonymous donors – we are unable to refund these, as explained in the Crowdfunder Story
- We refund your donation to you.
- In the event you do not wish your donation refunded please advise us if you wish us to retain the funds for:
- A fund to endeavour to ensure all the green spaces of Badger Farm are preserved for the benefit of the community.
- A fund to support projects for the benefit of the community (which would include the above option).
Any funds retained will be secured for the specified purpose in accordance with the duties incumbent upon us, Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery Residents’ Community Association, as a registered charity. In the event it is determined by the Trustees of BFOBRCA that the areas have been suitably preserved or that all reasonable efforts to do so have been exhausted then any remaining funds retained specifically for that purpose shall be transferred to the general fund for community projects.
If you do wish a refund please provide us with your banking details by 3 August to do so. This should be done either in person at the Community Centre (Mondays – Wednesdays 10am to 4pm) or by secure/encrypted means for the sake of security of your details.
If you have any concerns please contact Ali Cochrane, the Centre Manager, Badger Farm Community Centre.
Once again, we wish to thank you for your support, it has been a tremendous effort by the community.
Refunding your donations
2 June 2021: We are starting working on the refunds to you all (bar anonymous donors). This is a manual process so we would ask you to bear with us. To enable this we are going to have to have your bank details. These will be treated in the strictest confidence. If you could send them to us at bfobrca.manager@gmail.com and we will start the process of verification, deduction of expenses and repayment. Do bear in mind our staff are part time so we can’t give a timescale, but we will do this as swiftly as possible. In the event you do not wish your pledge returned please advise us in writing/email and those funds will continue to be held in the ringfenced account set aside for the purposes specified in the fundraiser. Once again, thank you for all your support, you have been amazing!
We lost 🙁
27 May 2021: We are really sad to let you know that this was sold to another party for £110,000. This figure was substantially above the £70,000 that we had raised through the Crowdfunder, private donations and funds from Badger Farm Parish Council.
Working together
13 May 2021: We are pleased to confirm that the Parish Council are continuing to work with the Residents and Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery Residents’ Community Association (us) and have decided to bid on behalf of the Residents, the BFOBRCA and themselves with the intent to purchase the land on behalf of the Community with title to be held by an independent CIO (Charity) to be formed from the Residents, BFOBRCA and the PC. They have confirmed that the funds raised by the Crowdfunder will be used and so if successful all donors are assured their gifts are invested in the land for the Community. Once again we are all grateful for all your support.
Auction schedule
19 April 2021: The auction has once again been pushed back. It’s now scheduled for Thursday 27 May. As soon as we know more, we’ll let you know!
13 April 2021: We can’t say “Thank you” enough to all of you who contributed to our Crowdfunder to help us save Davis Kickabout and the other patches of land around it. You pledged £10,930. With the GiftAid (estimated at £2098.75) our grand total is £13028.75. If you missed the Crowdfunder, but would still like to help out you can make a direct donation. email savedaviskickabout@gmail.com or contact us directly on Facebook or Twitter and we’ll send you the details you’ll need. The auction is a week on Thursday (22 April) and we’ll let you know how we got on as soon as possible afterwards.
2 March 2021: We have had confirmation that the auction date has been moved from 18 March to 22 April. This means that we have been able to extend the end date of the Crowdfunder appeal to 7 April. Please do pass on the word to keep donating via Twitter, Facebook or even the old fashioned word of mouth (even if it requires semaphore in today’s social distancing). We have put together a poster that you can print and display in your street to help spread the word.
Green space at the heart of Badger Farm
The land was held by the builder and maintained for the benefit of residents by Winchester City Council. The developer is now in liquidation and their assets, which include the Davis Kickabout, are being sold. With the recent building in Winchester this may be seen by another developer as an ideal opportunity to purchase. This is a great concern for all of us on Badger Farm.
We all know the area – whether just walking through it on the many pathways, playing on it, sitting enjoying the view, picnicking, watching wildlife or discovering plants. It is a vital green space, especially in these times, where we all can meet and which we can all use and enjoy.
Our progress so far
We, the Residents’ Association, have been working closely with the City Council to investigate possible title conditions and planning constraints which may give protection. This investigation has been noted on the title deeds at the Land Registry which may reduce the appeal to builders.
Several residents contacted us expressing their concern and pledging financial support. We are working closely with the Parish and City Councils and have their support. Together with the Parish Council, a village green application has now been made with the support of residents. This a long process which will not be decided prior to the sale. We are also in the process of making an application for Community Asset status.
We have suggested an offer prior to auction, but the auctioneer has advised us that would likely not be accepted, and the auction will go ahead as planned.
How you can help
We are trying to raise as much money as possible for the auction. We may have to bid against a speculative developer, but with the potential title and planning restrictions reducing the appeal the cost may not be insurmountable. The City Council will get an agent to act on our behalf at the auction and the intent is to buy the land to be held in perpetuity for the benefit of residents.
This is so vital an asset we must ensure it is bought for the community and its future safeguarded. Please help us do this by donating via crowdfunder.co.uk/save-davis-kickabout or contact us directly at savedaviskickabout@gmail.com.
Any excess funds shall be returned to donors on a basis proportional to the cost and expenses of purchase or should we fail to win the auction, on the same basis after deduction of expenses. Anonymous donations cannot be refunded. Any excess funds which cannot be returned shall be held for the benefit of the community.
Stay in touch
We will share updates on our fund-raising and the outcome of the sale on this page. You can also catch up with us on Twitter @BFCCWinchester and Facebook @BadgerFarmCommunityCentre.
I ve lived on Badger Farm since 2001 and am wondering how the crowd funding is going…Please could you bring me up to date s I agree this lovely public area should be preserved as such
The official Crowdfunder has closed and we were delighted to raise just over £13,000 (with Gift Aid). As the auction was delayed to 27 May after the Crowdfunder closed we are still accepting direct donations which people can make by getting in touch with us at the Community Centre. We are now waiting for the auction and will publish the results on this here on the website and on our social media pages.