The AGM took place at Key House, Yiewsley, yesterday (20.8.36). Thanks to all who attended. Andrea Scrivens and Brenda Gardner were re-elected as chair and treasurer respectively. Carol Gerrard, the secretary, sent her apologies. She stood down as secretary and Antonia Wild was elected in her place. We thank Carol for her many years of service to RAGC.
FRAGC Chair’s Report, 2025-2026
Introduction
I think it is probably fair to say that this has been the
most turbulent year in the Friends of RAGC ‘s history. The announcement, at a
hastily convened meeting on 30th May last year, that the council
intended to close the RAGC, triggered a campaign to save this vital and much
loved provision. I suspect that the council may have been
somewhat surprised by the strength of opposition to their plan. It is pleasing
to report that for now at least the site remains open to gardeneers if not to
the public.
The campaign
The campaign, which continues to this day, albeit a little
more quietly, included :
·
two petitions, one of which with over 6000
signatures, was amongst the largest in Hillingdon’s history
·
a Facebook page, Save the Rural Activities Garden
Centre Action Group, with 993 members, which was originally set up by other
supporters of RAGC at the time of the cafe closure
·
the creation of a website for FRAGC: fragc.uk
·
public demonstrations before council meetings
and outside RAGC
·
Room to Bloom, a short film by local filmmaker
Megan Williams: https://youtu.be/UyNODDyqOCo?is=HOOzCPc_wXYpvnMT
·
questions from campaign supporters at full
Council meetings
·
several articles in MyLondon online news
·
an item on ITV local news and coverage in BBC
online news
·
support from two of our three local MPs, Danny
Beales and John McDonnell and the London Assembly member for Ealing and
Hillingdon, Bassam Mahfouz
·
a visit to the Houses of Parliament with Danny
Beales and John McDonnell to hear an adjournment debate about RAGC secured by
Danny Beales
·
the support of Councillor Sital Punja the then
councillor for Yiewsley
·
fundraising through Crowdjustice to take legal
action over the Council’s failure to make a decision within statutory timelines
on our request for Asset of Community Value (ACV) status for RAGC
·
achieving ACV status for RAGC (but not the
adjoining field) in February
·
submitting a business proposal to the Council for
an alternative funding and operating model which would take the provision out of
Council control
The current situation
The retail operation at RAGC was closed in July 2025 and in
April 2026 the provision transferred from Green Spaces to Adult Social Care. Gardeneers
continue to receive horticultural therapy and take part in other activities
such as woodworking on site. Most of the existing staff team at the time of
transfer have remained in post and continue to do a brilliant job in spite of
the uncertainties caused by the Council’s actions. I’m delighted that Toni, who
recently retired from RAGC, has returned as a volunteer. Amid all the noise of
the campaign, FRAGC volunteers have quietly got on with what it was set up to
do, namely making day to day life at RAGC better through social events and the
provision of tea and coffee.
What next?
Campaign members have had discussions with other
organisations about the possibility of a collaboration which would protect the
future of RAGC and include among other things the reopening of the retail
operation and cafe. The discussions are ongoing. In the meantime we are also
working on setting up a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) which would
have the benefit of being eligible for grants and funding. We hope to be able
to share news of these developments in the not too distant future.
Finally we would like to thank everyone who has supported
FRAGC’s campaign to keep RAGC open. This includes:
·
everyone who signed the petitions, supported the
campaign through the Save the RAGC Action Group Facebook page or became a
member of RAGC
·
everyone who organised or attended the
demonstrations and Council meetings
·
everyone who donated to the fundraising for
legal action
·
the team at Leigh Day solicitors
·
Danny Beales , John McDonnell and Bassam Mahfouz
·
Cllr Sital Punja for her untiring and invaluable
support and advice
·
behind the scenes support with IT
·
the staff and volunteers at RAGC
·
Meg Williams for giving her time and skills to
produce Room to Bloom
·
Local media such as MyLondon, James Carson at
Hillingdon Vision and the Ruislip Residents’ Association’s Town Crier magazine
and website which have reported on RAGC
·
John Scrivens for the huge amount of work he put
into the ACV requests and other aspects of the campaign
·
and last but not least, our amazing gardeneers!
Andrea Scrivens
20.8.26
