On 1 April 2025, an informal tender was submitted by Stroud Common Wealth Community Benefit Society (SCW) on behalf of the Rodborough Fields Preservation Group (RFPG), to bring this piece of land into community ownership.
Community ownership would open the area up for recreational use, encourage biodiversity, provide numerous educational opportunities and amenity.
The initial priorities are likely to be to:
- Maintaining and enhancing community access
- Supporting nature recovery, with the pastureland returning to meadows rich in flowers and insects. This is likely to involve conservation grazing with a small herd of cattle
- Ensuring the woods and riverbank are well maintained
- Using the meadows and river banks for education and volunteering
- Exploring options like a community orchard, a spring fed pond and a circular walking route
- Securing grants to enable the land to continue to be managed for the benefit of nature and the local community.
