Why become a shareholder?
By becoming a shareholder, you’re not just making a financial contribution — you’re playing a vital role in preserving Slade Wood for generations to come. As a Community Benefit Society, Stroudwoods will ensure that the community can take ownership of this beautiful woodland.
As a shareholder, you’ll have an equal stake in Slade Wood, giving you a direct say in how this beautiful woodland is managed and cared for once it’s in our hands. This isn’t just about owning a woodland; it’s about being part of a collective effort to protect and nurture this woodland for community access and thriving nature.
Stroudwood’s purchase of Slade Wood would secure it for community ownership in perpetuity, enabling continued access and providing an asset lock preventing sale for private commercial purposes. We would also organise community activities, such as, bushcraft skills and campfire cooking. We would keep public access to the wood the same – with the same paths open to use.
Who is hoping to buy Slade Wood?
Stroud Woodland Co-op would like to buy Slade Wood. We are a co-operative (set up as a community benefit society – this is a legal entity that can do things like own land and sell shares, see more at stroudwoods.org.uk). Stroud Woodland Co-op was founded in 2011 to buy Follywood on the other side of the Slad Valley. 70 share owners have managed Follywood very successfully since then, with many improvements for wildlife and small social events. Stroud Woodland Co-op was originally set up with the ability to own and manage multiple woods, and now wants to expand to create another community woodland.
How many shares can I buy?
We are selling shares in blocks of £600. Anyone 16 or over can buy £600 or £1200 worth of shares in Stroud Woodland Co-op. More than one person in a household can buy shares e.g. if a couple and two adult children share a home then they could buy two shares each = £4,800 total.
How much do you need to raise?
We need to raise £66,000 to buy the woodland and to pay for legal fees and other costs.
What is the timescale?
We hope to have raised all the money needed by the end of May. The current owners need to sell the wood soon. They are keen to sell to a community group but there is a risk that they will put it on the open market if we can’t raise the funds by then.
How is the wood being bought?
We will be raising money primarily through selling new blocks of shares to make this a true community asset. We may consider donations and loans to make up any shortfall in the short term.
What happens if you don’t raise enough money through selling shares?
We hope to sell the 110 blocks of shares we need. We’d also be very happy to receive donations toward the costs! If we still don’t have enough we will be looking for interest-free loans from individuals. We are asking for money to be deposited as a commitment to buy shares.
What happens if I want to return my shares after we’ve bought Slade wood?
We hope that eventually we sell shares and will eventually have people from 110 different households owning the shares. We’ll use the same system that we use already for Stroud Woodland Co-op: shares can’t be sold directly to someone else. They need to come back to Stroud Woodland Co-op to re-issue. Anyone wanting to return shares lets the secretary know. If there is anyone on the waiting list they are offered the chance to buy the shares. If there is no one on the waiting list the person wanting to sell their share has to wait until someone wants to buy it. So, with selling a lot of shares and possibly needing to pay off loans it may be a long time until shares can be returned.
What do I get for my money?
Buying a share in Stroud Woodland Co-op is not an investment for a financial return. It means the chance to get involved in managing and using Follywood and Slade Wood, but that’s only if you want to. Members can book use of the firepit area at Follywood and we would investigate a similar arrangement for Slade Wood. Some Stroud Woodland Co-op members are simply happy that the woods are community owned and well looked after. Other members enjoy workdays in the woods, surveying wildlife and wildflowers, and occasional social get-togethers.
There is no interest paid on shares and you will only get back what you paid for them. This means that over time your money will be worth less BUT you do get those benefits of helping nature, protecting the wood and meeting other people who want to do that.
Are there any other costs?
Stroud Woodland Co-op is run by volunteers and has very low overheads. Every year we ask members to make a voluntary donation of £20 towards our costs. These include things like insurance and tree surgery.
How does co-ownership work?
Stroud Woodland Co-op makes decisions by consensus at members meetings. We only use formal voting at our Annual General Meeting to elect directors. For those meetings one person gets one vote – so owning £1200 of shares doesn’t give you two votes.
How would this additional wood be managed?
Any new woodland would be the legal responsibility of Stroud Woodland Co-op directors, elected by members, who would have overall control of both Follywood and Slade Wood.
We have a fixed set of top-level ‘primary’ rules about how the organisation is run and can develop and adopt secondary rules to our needs. So we can set up working groups for developing Slade Wood and/or groups that worked across both sites, such as the Wildflower Group or other interests that emerge.
We would agree a Management Plan with the District Council and a Felling Licence with the Forestry Commission to make sure all work on the Wood was done properly.
In addition to the member donations for running costs we may explore applying for grants that private owners can’t access.
Share Purchase
Payment is by Bank Transfer (BACS). This ensures that 100% of your share purchase money goes towards co-owning Slade Wood.
Please complete the form below. You will then be redirected to a page outlining next steps and the bank transfer details.