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A fundraiser has been launched to help bring a West London council to court over its decision to close the retail operation at a garden centre, which has described as a "lifeline" for people with learning disabilities.
Friends of the Rural Activities Garden Centre (FRAGC) near Hayes intend to file for a judicial review, claiming that Hillingdon Council failed to meet statutory obligations when closing the retail side of the garden centre earlier this year. The RAGC was popular among local residents, and was maintained by adults with learning disabilities.
The centre was laid and landscaped by residents from the borough to provide horticultural therapy and a until July sold plants grown there to local residents. Since then, some of the volunteers have continued to attend the RAGC to support staff with gardening.
The council intends to relocate volunteers to alternative sites, such as the Civic Centre, in due course. However, Cabinet has not come to a final decision on alternative provision for volunteers.
Councillor Sital Punja, Deputy Leader of Hillingdon Labour, says she is disappointed in how Hillingdon Council has managed the situation. She said: "I am truly saddened that Conservative-led Hillingdon Council have chosen to ignore the application to list the Rural Activities Garden Centre as an Asset of Community Value.
"Cllr Bianco said in September's council meeting that the Friends of RAGC would have an answer in two weeks. Cllr Bianco has failed to keep that promise.
"Now a cash-strapped council, begging the Labour Government to bail out their financial mismanagement, will end up in court because they cannot meet statutory deadlines for processing an application for Asset of Community Value."
FRAGC are hoping to raise an initial £9,750 to support judicial review proceedings against Hillingdon Council. This is expected to include a request for a mandatory order requiring the council to decide on the Asset of Community Value (ACV) nominations submitted by FRAGC.
An Asset of Community Value is a designation given to land or a building important to a local community, listed by the council under the UK's Localism Act 2011 to help protect it from sale, allowing community groups a chance to bid. If an ACV goes up for sale, a six-month moratorium (pause) is triggered, giving local community groups time to raise funds and prepare a bid, though the owner (in this case Hillingdon Council) isn't forced to sell to them.
However, campaigners have told the LDRS that Hillingdon Council has withheld relevant information needed to formulate a coherent financial plan to purchase the site. Hillingdon Council told the LDRS in November that it has provided financial information to FRAGC.
If the full amount is raised, lawyers have reportedly offered to act on a no-win no-fee basis, due to what FRAGC describe as a "strong case" against the council, which maintains procedure was correctly followed.
So far, £1,650 has been raised in just four days, with over three weeks left to go until the deadline. Anyone wishing to donate or find out more information can visit the crowdfunding page.
Hillingdon Council said: "The council will consider formally listing the Rural Activities Garden Centre as an Asset of Community Value in January and this has been published publicly on the council's forward plan."
While the council's Cabinet agreed at its meeting on June 26 to cease retail operations at the Rural Activities Garden Centre, engagement on the future of services at the site for those with assessed social care needs continues, and a decision on the future of those support services is still to be made.