Volume 37 No 1 Feb-Mar 1986.pdf - Lakes Gliding Club

MICHAEL KITSON
I,did seem like a lot 01 money whell we were
first faced with the prospect of buying our rented
fieldbut there was no alternative. Ovettheweeks
ofdiscussion and action culminating in the act"lal
purchase, the size 01 the problem decreased in
financial terms until it not 0011' looked eminently
feasible but was obviously the most $elisible,
and in the long run, the cheapest course, of
actioo; albeit w~ were taking a mortgage on the
future but without it there would be no Mure.
The East Sussex GC was started in 1974 at
Ringmer near lewes some ten miles NE of
Brighton following the move of the Southdown
Club from Firle to Parham in Wesl Sl:lssex. A
small number 01 stalwarts acquired a K-2 and a
barrage balloon style winch and persuaded a
local ,farmer to ,rent them three' fields totalling
55 acres, somewhat rectangular in shape with
the longest axis running NE to SW.
Matters progressed and by the 1980s we
had added another two-seater, two singleseaters,
a hangaw and a membership approaching
the 90 mark. Over the years we had dallied
w~h the idea of buying the field and had
approached our friendly farmer but he was not
interested. Since tile rent was low we did not
pursue the matter with any great energy
although at the back of our minds was the
knowledge that we could be on Ihree months'
notice at any time and over the years we had
been unable to find another suitable site in the
vicinity.
But it aM changed very quickly. Our farmer
decided he wanted to sell. We could have the
field he said - at the right price. We offered
£45 000 which wasn't the right 'price but we
had to start somewhere. Eventually we arrived
al a mutually agreed figure of £60000 which
was about what tand around Ringmer was
worth sUbj,ect :to its agricUltural state. Visits 'had
been made to our, bank manager immediately a
sale had been mooted So with £10 000 in the
bank a loan of £50 000 was possible and
agreed in principle; possible but not desirable
since servicing costs of around 15%pa would
be too high for the club to meet in its present
form, but it did mean ,it gave the committee
breathing space 10 arrange and organise other
funding. We decided to explore the possibility
of a Sports Council grant and approach all club
members for a contribution.
No sooner had we got this particular ball 'fOIling
than our farmer decided that he did not
wish to sell just the field btIt the whole of the
farm, 1'50 acres· in all with a Dutch barn thrown
in for good measure. So it was back to square
one for the Field Purchase sub-committee. No
way would the farmer split his holding. it was all
or nothing. We decided to go for the lot and
hopefUlly find a buyer for the unwanted
acreage by contract signing time. In the event,
with some heart stoppers when we thought we
had been pre-empted by another purchaser,
we eventually fixed on a prj(;e of £155000 for
the whole. found a co-purchaser and finished
up having to find, £80 000 for 75 acres. This
was somewhat more than we wanted since a
corner of the land was nol necessary for gliding
purposes, but it wasn't suitable for our copurchasel"s
need's so we had to take it or lose
the sale.
We were now all set and only had the task
18
A LOT OF MONEY ...
The story of East Sussex GC's efforts to buy their own site
of raising the money. Prior to any offers we had
formed by committee consent a working group
of five including a solicitor, accountant and
architect who gave us professional advice free
of charge. The chairman was given complete
freedOm to negotiate without the necessity of
sub-committee meetings at every turn. Initially
the sub-committee made Iwo decisions; we
would have the land valued and ask the BGA
for help and guidance. For Ihe valuation we
chose the land agents who were associated
with the club's bank; once we had the valuation
we could talk to the bank about financing. Our
cri de coeUf to the BOA was met with immediate
and cOAstructive response. Busy BGA officials
took time off to come and see us, look at
our problems and offer us a wealth of advice,
encouragement and particular guidance on
Sports Council grants and loans.
62% from members
25% from the Sports Council
130!c> from the club
Having finally made our offer, subject to contract,
we called an Extraordinary General
Meeting and put it to the members. The
response was tremendous. Ot,Ir members are
the sal,t of Ihe earth and when fleeds be they
oome up with the necessary, be it work or
money. lihefinal breakdown of who gave what
was roughly 62% from members, 25% fwm the
Sports Council with the remaining 13% from
the club Ibank balances. ClUb members' con-
The road alongside the s~e runs NE! SW and in the
photograph the gliders are in the NE end 01 the field
with the hangar in the SW corner at the bottom.
Photo: Michael Kitson.
tributions were either interest free or very low
interest loans. We were extremely fortunate iA
having one club member whose contribution
amounted ta just over 35% of the whole. We
had little left in the bank after this but we had
our field.
Nct that it all happened overnight; we had
~he agonising wait ,to contract signature and
eKchange and then another wait to completion
but 'eventually Hall happened. We have securityof
tenure and to ,keep it that way we have
10 go on lIying and make maximum use of our
asset 10 generate the income 10 pay back the
monies borrowed.
We were forced into a decision but if you
have the opportunity to buy your club site,
deCide to do il and maybe you can learn something
from our eKperience.
1. Start a site fund immediately. You do
heed a respectable bank balance.
2. Appoint a small committee or working
group 10 decide guidelineS and then give them
carte blanche.
3. Get the land valued by a valuer you know
to be acceptable 'to your bank.
4. Prepare a feasibility study of some ten to
12 A4 pages. giving the club history. anticipated
membership levels and projected cash flow.
Stress the 'loss of' 'local leisure facilities should
you not be able to purchase and continue as a
club. Show your geographical catchment area
ana inClude other gliding clubs. if any.
5. Cbeck your planning consent.
SAILPLANE & GLIDING