Support Deen City Farm

Lead Petitioner: Ben Cheetham

Status: new > draft > rejected > accepted > collecting signatures > waiting submission > submitted to council > Pending owner response > closed > withdrawn

Petition

We call upon to Merton Council to stop cutting its grant to Deen City Farm and increase the grant annual in-line with inflation.

Background Information

Deen City Farm is a hugely popular, established community project and educational resource in Merton, accessible to all.

Local authority funding for the Farm is now £10K less than it was in 1993-4. The Farm understands that local authority resources are under intense pressure and cuts are inevitable. The Farm has been cut 12% in 2011-12. Further cuts of the same level are proposed for the next two years.

We require support from the local community to oppose further cuts. It will be exceedingly difficult to keep the Farm going after this year’s cut. To continue operating after any further cut would be impossible.

We need you to join us in telling Merton Council that they cannot afford to lose this vital community resource and need to continue with annual support in line with inflation.

There are so many fixed costs incurred by a project the size of Deen City Farm such as utilities bills, public liability insurance, costs associated with being a venue open to the public and basic staffing costs. Other significant costs relate to the animals we have here: mainly their feed.

Aside from free admission, we charge for everything that people do or purchase at the Farm.
We have done exceedingly well in the last ten years (while our funding from Merton has, in real terms, diminished significantly) at building income with successful funding applications to run projects such as our volunteer programme and growing gardens project as well as dozens of smaller schemes mainly working with vulnerable young people.

But there comes a time when these pots run out or become more and more difficult to access. If we increase our prices further it will mean our services are no longer accessible.

Trying to maintain our core operation by creating project upon project to bring in income will result in an unstable Farm that will eventually come crashing down.

We have re-launched some of our services and tightened belts wherever we can, but there comes a time when they can’t go any tighter.

Our grant is back to the level it was in 1993/4. We would understand the need to cut our grant if it had risen over the years but it has only increased by inflation five times in the last 15 years. Back then the price of a bale of hay was under £2. It is now £5.50!! We can no longer deliver.

We need ongoing revenue funding so that we can continue our work, particularly with volunteers many of whom simply need the confidence to get back into paid employment. Many need active, respite care, or want to develop confidence or want a safe place to meet friends, or somewhere they can start their studies ahead of a career in animal care, horticulture or equine management.

Merton and other boroughs need to understand what Deen City Farm gives to the local community, how its users value it and how it adds value to the grant it gets. Merton simply has to maintain its grant. Not doing so will lead to a spiral downwards almost certainly leading to an organisation that barely resembles what it is today.

The Farm costs less than 70p per resident of Merton per year. Surely, this can be set aside so that everyone has the opportunity to learn from their visit, or contribution, to this vital community resource?

Please support our petition.