Kirkstall Valley Development Trust is asking everyone in the city who supports the idea of a community-run farm to chip in to their crowdfunder campaign.
The 16-acre, council owned farm in Kirkstall, north of Cardigan Fields, has been farmed since the 1950s by a tenant farmer who died in 2017.
As reported by WLD last month, Leeds City Council has agreed to lease the 16-acre Burley Mills Farm (now known as Kirkstall Valley Farm) and allotments to the community for a minimum of five years from next April at an affordable rent.
The Council have now offered the lease to the Trust, who want to supply fresh veg to the local community through a vegetable box scheme, as well as making the farm a social and educational focus for the area.
The volunteers need around £20,000 for a tractor, equipment, green manure seed, toilets, polytunnels, a collection hut and social area and making the site secure.
One of the leading lights behind the campaign is local resident Roger Plumtree. He told WLD last month:
“We see a huge opportunity with the location of the farm. There are very few community farms across the country which are so close to the city centre and we’re hugely excited to be bringing real-world sustainable agriculture to the community.
“We want to bring agricultural land back into use, enhance wildlife on the site by preserving the boundaries and make it a community asset.”
KVDT director Chris Hill said:
“We are gathering buyers and volunteers and want to appoint a grower in early 2021, ready to move us to full production.”
The fundraising campaign is open until mid-January.
Contribute to KVDT’s crowdfunder here.