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!
