Buckfastleigh Makes

When you are loosing...go home! You may have noticed nothing much has happened with this campaign. The reality is that there doesn’t appear to be a path towards repurposing the Valiant Soldier into a centre for makers in Buckfastleigh. The climate is just not right at the moment.... While this is a huge missed opportunity for makers and for Buckfastleigh there is no point in fighting windmills. So this page will be closed down in a week. The ‘Buckfastleigh Makes’ group will continue as a meeting place for local makers, and our ambition for a makers place may still materialise - just not at the VS. Thank you for your support.

THERE IS A BIG ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM THIS THURSDAY On Thursday there is an informal and private meeting between the Town Council and the Buckfastleigh Trust that operates the Valiant Soldier. As I understand it there is no published agenda nor will there be any published minutes. Neither the Council nor the Trust has invited any of us to express our views about what should be discussed at this meeting. This must be what the Council calls Open Participative Democracy. George Or...well would call it doublespeak I guess. These are some of the things I would put on the agenda: 1. Re-establishing lawful and accountable governance of the Trust. This is really easy, they just need to stop prevaricating and apply the official Trust's articles that are registered with the Charity Commission. The Council just needs to do it's job. 2. Addressing the urgent repairs needed to the boundary wall fronting the river Mardle. A section has collapsed recently and the wall is unstable and may well collapse into the river causing flooding. What is the outcome of any meetings with the Dartmoor National Park Authority and the Environment Agency and what is the progress on repairs ? 3. For the Trust to make a formal statement to say the barn and gardens are no longer for sale and will not be put up for sale in future. 4. For the Trust to apologise to the people of Buckfastleigh for neglecting the barn and gardens for 22 years, and for trying to sell them off on the quiet without any public consultation, and without permission from the Charity Commission. 5. For the Trust to stop hiring out the VS to groups of paranormal investigators who roam the VS and back lanes at night with torches causing a disturbance. On their last visit the police were called to make them leave. Yes really - you couldn't make this stuff up. 6. For the Trust and/or Council to articulate an exciting future for the Valiant Soldier, Barns and Gardens that will enthuse the people of Buckfastleigh and that is sustainable in the long term. Feel free to share this post with your friends or other pages. Peter

URGENT CALL FOR ACTION So the town council said they would support the Valiant Soldier to get funding and develop a strategy for the future. And then I find this in the window of Rendells in Totnes - A notice to say the barns and gardens of the Valiant Soldier have been sold. Subject to contract ? Who knows. With the tacit approval or collusion of the town council ? Who knows. Despite the charity commission’s refusal of permission ? Who knows.... I do know this: It doesn’t pass the smell test. Under the articles of the Buckfastleigh Trust the town council are the effective owners of the Valiant Soldier. Let’s remind the town council of their responsibilities and hold them accountable for what happens to the Valiant Soldier. Here is a suggested email for the town councillors. Feel free to change this as you see fit. Dear councillor. You were elected to serve the people of buckfastleigh. As my councillor I expect you to put the interests of the people of buckfastleigh ahead of the interests of the buckfastleigh trust. Specifically I expect you to do everything you can to prevent the sale of the barns and gardens of the Valiant Soldier until the people of buckfastleigh have been consulted over the future of the Valiant Soldier. here are the email addresses of the town councillors: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] peter

(We updated the 'about' section of the campaign page - sharing it with you here) A new future for the Valiant Soldier ? When the Buckfastleigh Trust put their barn and gardens up for auction to the highest bidder our initial response was to buy them for our private use. Over time we came to the conclusion that it would be a wasted opportunity for these public assets to be sold for private use and be forever lost to public use by the people of Buckfastleigh. Although we only m...Continue reading

Following the Makers meeting last Sunday we have set up a Facebook group for makers and growers to connect with each other and promote their work. Going forward this page will be used only for our campaign to repurpose the Valiant Soldier building, barns, and gardens as a centre for makers in Buckfastleigh. The Facebook Group is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1139857209541787/?source_id=2175109429274286... Joanna and Peter