Friends of Fairlands Farm CIC submitted Box Wood as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) on 13th July 2020, but this did not get approval before the original sale of the lease on 23rd July 2020 or subsequent auctions on 29th July 2020.
However, the nomination was granted by EHDC and will effectively block any ongoing sales for 6 weeks. This would provide time for community groups to consider submitting Expressions of Interest (EoI) to purchase areas of Box Wood which remain unsold.
The situation is now quite different from when the nomination was first submitted. There are currently multiple new sub-leaseholders of smaller plots of land bought at a much higher price and new owners are not obliged to accept any offers made by the community.
The submission of the EoI, would stall any sales for six months allowing community groups to consider making an offer for the purchase.
We expect this to be far higher than the original £3k per acre that we believe the lease was sold for.
Sadly, we are doubtful as to whether the community could afford any purchase now that the land has been split up and sold on.