The BATCOM Community Composters Build

Continuous
fundraising

BATCOM (Brimscombe and Thrupp Community Composters) are building their brand new site, where we will take green garden waste and turn it into beautiful compost for our community.

£26,060 Raised of £24,216

58 Backers

107%

Back this project

This project has reached its fundraising target. It has also activated Continuous Fundraising, which means you can still donate and support the project.

Updates

The BATCOM Community Composters Build published their Delivery Report!4 months ago

Join BATCOM now!1 year ago

Yesterday we got an email from Spacehive to ask how things were going .... which was a timely reminder for me to contact you, as one of our crowdfunder donators, to let you know that BATCOM will start accepting green waste deposits at the beginning of next month! We can only take green waste from households who have subscribed to the composting scheme*, so please apply to join now! Here's the link to the page on our website which explains how to join BATCOM as a co-operative member AND/OR a composting subscriber - https://www.batcom.org.uk/about-us/ . Check out the information on the page and click on the 'Apply to Join' button to, errr... apply to join! *Subs holders contribute a £50/year towards the cost of running the composting site but regular volunteers compost for free.

51 Donations worth £2,0002 years ago

The BATCOM Community Composters Build hit its fundraising target!2 years ago

Brilliant news, thanks everyone!

2 years ago We've hit our target

50 backers!

50 people have backed The BATCOM Community Composters Build!2 years ago

Whoop, 50 people have pledged since fundraising began!

90% towards our target with five days to go!2 years ago

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Work has begun on the new community composting site! Huge thanks to you for supporting our crowdfunder... we are nearly there! The next five days can make all the difference so we are asking you to help us make one last push to bring us up towards our target. Please share this page with neighbours and friends who might like to support the scheme - every donation made this weekend will enable us to finish the build and open in time for the next season of growing. Watch our Facebook and Instagram accounts for updates too and please give them a share. Thanks again and see you at Hope Mill!

The BATCOM Community Composters Build has reached 90% of its target!2 years ago

40 backers!

40 people have backed The BATCOM Community Composters Build!2 years ago

Whoop, 40 people have pledged since fundraising began!

BCCS pledged £1,0002 years ago

http://www.batcom.org.uk

BATCOM came about in 2019 when a group of people got together to discuss the possibility of starting up a community composting scheme for Brimscombe and Thrupp. The project had lots of local backing with many people struggling to manage their garden green waste and supportive of the idea of coming together to compost it as a community.

Advised by Bisley Community Composting Scheme, we researched what needed to be done - find a site, get planning permission, obtain an Environment Agency waste exemption certificate, build... and compost! One end of an empty Hope Mill industrial plot belonging to the parish council was the obvious choice - flat ground, easily accessible, spacious and available. It's part of a wider site the parish council have earmarked for future community projects, and BATCOM would be a perfect conduit to bring people to the land and sow the seeds of new ideas.

Thanks to our County Councillor Chloe Turner, we were able to secure some GCC funding and with the parish council's blessing we applied for planning permission. This was a tricky endeavour due to the proximity of the River Frome and concerns about the river and its rich ecology. With the help of Stroud-based community architects Extended Works, we were able to produce a sensitive application and with a number of conditions, permission was granted in September 2023.

More funding was needed to progress. A community fundraising drive raised another £1.5k and a few thousand in pledges. When we applied for one of the parish council's Community Grants in April, they went a (huge) step further and offered to pay for local builders Yatemans to prepare the site and install the six large composting bays together with the concrete base and drainage system required by our planning. This shouldered the lion's share of the build costs, turning an empty site into a purpose-built composting facility ready for BATCOM to move into and finish. Yatemans is expected to start the work in early November.

The time came to incorporate. We felt that BATCOM would work best as a Community Benefit Society, co-operatively owned and run by all its members. With £1 shares available to anyone in Brimscombe and Thrupp (not just our compost scheme members), BATCOM will grow as the community needs. We became a CBS in May 2024 with six directors and a big waiting list of composters, ready to help with the BATCOM Build!

Project Owner: BATCOM The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.