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February

MASSEY'S FOLLY PRESERVATION TRUST - the story so far - Updated 14th May 2009

This charity was established more than two years ago by a small group of like minded people in Farringdon who were committed to the conservation and restoration of Massey's Folly, a Grade ll listed building. It was hoped this would avoid a compulsory repairs and/or purchase order. The Folly is featured on Hampshire's 'at risk' register. A recent survey has estimated the cost of these repairs as in excess of £200,000 to just the Village Hall part of the building.
The long term aim was to restore the fabric of the building both interior and exterior and to develop a sustainable plan for the use of the building that would include community support and income generation.

All of this needed support at a local and national level. The ownership of the building has been an issue throughout the history of The Folly and continued to provide challenges for the Trustees. To enable bids for grants and access to national funds Massey's Folly needed to be under the ownership of one organisation.

The Trust has received restricted grants of £44,460 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £23,049 from the Architectural Heritage Fund to be spent on producing a Conservation Management Plan, Audience Development Plan, Access Plan and Building Gazetteer. Included in these grants were sufficient funds to enable the Trust to employ a part time Project Organiser for one year. The person appointed would assist the Trustees in the preparation of the main application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant to cover the total cost of restoring Massey's Folly at no cost to the villagers of Farringdon. The work carried out was thorough and produced some valuable information.

Additional support and funds from Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire District Council were also invaluable. Throughout this period of time the Trustees were in discussions with the two owners of Massey's Folly to purchase the building and enable additional restoration money to be accessed. A loan to purchase the building had been agreed with The Architectural Heritage Fund.

However this was not to be. The offers were turned down by both parties as being too low. The two funding bodies advised MFPT Trustees to place the plan on hold with a view to revisiting it in the future.

MFPT will continue to promote the restoration of The Folly and maintain its charity status. Both end of year accounts have been independently audited and are available for inspection on request. They show that the Trust's residual assets amount to less than £500. All copies of The Conservation Management Plan and associated paperwork are held by the chairman for future reference.

The small group of Trustees has worked extremely hard during the last two years assisted by a body of supporters in the village and the wider community. Volunteers have given the equivalent of 3,625 working days - quite a commitment.

The Trustees would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that has been involved in the story - so far.

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