SAVE RURAL ACTIVITIES GARDEN CENTRE – FUNDRAISING FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
SAVE RURAL ACTIVITIES GARDEN CENTRE – FUNDRAISING FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW
Latest: Feb. 4, 2026
SUCCESS! RAGC gets ACV status
Thanks to your support, Hillingdon Council has at last approved Asset of Community Value status for RAGC which will help safeguard the RAGC site for the future. It also provides much-deserved recogni…
Read moreSAVE OUR RURAL ACTIVITIES GARDEN CENTRE – WE ARE FUNDRAISING FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW ACTION AGAINST HILLINGDON COUNCIL
Hillingdon Council have failed to meet their statutory obligations under the Localism Act to process Friends of RAGC's application to nominate the Rural Activities Garden Centre as an Asset of Community Value. This is despite our solicitor's pre-action letter requesting they behave in a lawful manner by deciding on these nominations.
Some members of the RAGC community speak out about the value of RAGC and what it means to them in this video.
The RAGC has been a lifeline and community hub for adults with learning disabilities and autism for 40 years. It has been laid and landscaped by residents in our borough to provide horticultural therapy and a sanctuary for residents to come, engage and purchase plants creating not only a community but a family.
This is not a story of figures on a spreadsheet.
This is Oliver’s story, Doug’s story, Alan’s story, Georgia’s story and of all those who volunteer and benefit from this amazing garden centre.
You helped us before by 6000 people signing our petition, 1000 letters sent to Cllr Lavery the cabinet member responsible for making this decision, a debate in Parliament led by Danny Beales MP and supported by Rt Hon John McDonnell MP. Your generous donations enabled us to send the pre-action protocol letter which has reduced the risk of the council selling the land on which RAGC stands.
WE NOW NEED YOUR HELP AGAIN TO TAKE HILLINGDON COUNCIL TO COURT
The £9,750 we are raising will support our judicial review proceedings against Hillingdon Council. These are expected to include a request for a mandatory order requiring the Council to decide on the ACV nominations submitted by FRAGC.
As before, if the initial target (of £9,750) is not reached, then donations will be refunded to donors. If it is reached, the money raised will be transferred from CrowdJustice to our lawyers, Leigh Day, to cover the cost of court fees and the risk of having to pay the council's legal costs. Because of the strength of our claim against the Council, we are pleased to say that our lawyers have agreed to act for us on a no win, no fee basis.
In the event that the initial target is raised, but not fully used for legal costs by the end of the campaign period (this is quite possible) then according to the CrowdJustice terms and conditions for non-profit organisations such as Friends of RAGC, the unused funds can be used to support FRAGC's continuing work.
For more detail, please read the CrowdJustice terms and condtions at:
Details of previous fundraising campaign with history of the campaign are at: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/saveragc
The web site of Friends of RAGC is at www.fragc.uk
Some of the people who rely on RAGC are unable to represent themselves because of their disabilities. A local film maker kindly volunteered to make a three minute video which features some of the people who attend RAGC (known as "gardeneers") speaking for themselves, and local people with a strong connection to RAGC who are advocating for the gardeneers. It is well worth watching and is available at - https://fragc.uk/2025/09/09/room-to-bloom-short-film/
Sadly, Hillingdon Council refused to let us film at RAGC but you are welcome to visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/652974616588336 > Save the Rural Activity Centre Action Group | Facebook which contains some photos and videos relating to RAGC. It would be great if you could also share the link to this CrowdJustice fundraising with your friends.
ON BEHALF OF ALL THOSE IN HILLINGDON WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES AND AUTISM WE WOULD LIKE TO OFFER A HUGE THANKS FOR YOUR DONATION FOR LEGAL ACTION TO HELP SAVE THE RURAL ACTIVITIES GARDEN CENTRE FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.
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FRIENDS OF THE RURAL ACTIVITIES GARDEN CENTRE (FRAGC)
Feb. 4, 2026
SUCCESS! RAGC gets ACV status
Thanks to your support, Hillingdon Council has at last approved Asset of Community Value status for RAGC which will help safeguard the RAGC site for the future. It also provides much-deserved recognition for RAGC's brilliant work over the past 40+ years.
This approval is subject to the call-in procedure which can be implemented if the Council wants to scrutinise this decision further, and this will be known by 10th February 2026.
The judicial review funded by your generous donations continues at the time of writing so we will wait until this is over before providing more information.
WELL DONE TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE DONATED, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT YOUR HELP.
FRIENDS OF THE RURAL ACTIVITIES GARDEN CENTRE (FRAGC)
Jan. 7, 2026
YOU DID IT! OVER £12,500 NOW PLEDGED FOR RAGC
Following some recent large pledges, for which we are immensely grateful, we have exceeded our CrowdJustice stretch target of £12,500. We would like to thank every single one of the 160+ people who generously pledged amounts, large and small, for RAGC at a time of year when household finances are often stretched.
Thanks are also due to all those who told their friends about the campaign, posted links on social media and all those who have spent the past week or so distributing flyers about the campaign at various locations across the borough, despite the freezing conditions.
It is remarkable that our targets have been achieved with a week of the initial CrowdJustice campaign still to run. It underlines the strength of feeling about RAGC and also about the shameful way it has been treated by the Council. It is heartwarming to see how residents from across the borough have rallied around to try to save RAGC.
The fundraising will enable our lawyers to initiate judicial review proceedings intended to force the Council to process our nominations for RAGC to receive Asset of Community Value status. This legal status is designed to protect sites such as RAGC and would make it more difficult for the Council to sell the RAGC site to, for example, a developer.
Within a few days of the end of the initial crowdfunding campaign period, CrowdJustice will directly transfer the funds raised to our lawyers at Leigh Day, and we know that they are well prepared for action.
THANKS ONCE AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR HELPING RAGC.
THIS IS A BRILLIANT RESULT !
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