Fox In Crisis

Fox Housing Co-operative is in crisis! But this is sadly no new state of affairs.

At the current time three non-resident 'directors' are trying to evict the 5 residents of Werndolau farm, which is owned by the co-operative. For those of you who don't know much about co-ops here's a low down:

Fox is a fully mutual housing co-operative. What that means is that the co-op is supposed to operate on a simple membership principle, i.e. All tenants are members and all members and tenants. A fully mutual co-op is set up to support people to live in a way that they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford and also it allows the members of the co-operative to have control over their housing rather than being beholden to a landlord. In the case of Fox, the main objective of the society is to provide housing free from discrimination on any grounds and to provide those people who live their with land, amenities and services that they require.

So you'll note that I said 'supposed' above. A little history, until 2006 Fox's rules were fully mutual, then it appears that the directors decided that they didn't want to live in a co-op any more. They purchased properties and moved away, fair enough. Sadly, rather than handing the co-op over to the next group of people to move in so they too could benefit from the farms 70+ acres, extensive barns and buildings, they decided to move the goal posts. A letter was sent to the FSA (who are supposed to regulate co-ops) asking them to change the rules. The FSA duly noted the changes and added them to their system. The rule changes allowed for people who didn't live at Fox to remain members... not only that, they also state that even if you do live their you need not be a member. These rule changes effectively destroy what the co-op stands for, they make Fox Housing Co-operative Ltd into a private landlord which can, and all to regularly, does evict people who should be recognised as members.

All this sounds a little dodgy, but ok, as long as the rules are used sensibly. I fear, however, that the changes to the rules have not been sensibly employed. In 2007 a couple brought their family and their investment to Werndolau. Promised membership by the 'directors' they sunk £50k into renovating a barn to create the dream eco-home. After more than a year with no movement on the promised membership things started to turn sour. The family was asked leave their new hand built home and sent a series of threatening letters. In the end the pressure was too much for them and they left for greener pastures, feeling like they had wasted 2 years of their lives.

Following that another group of people arrived, another family, a single man and two young foresters. All had great expectations for what they could each do with their lives as part of Fox Housing Co-op. Shamefully the same story begins to repeat it self with the family eventually leaving under circumstances which it is down to them to discuss.

Upon arrival at the farm the foresters set about improving the place. They pruned the neglected woodland, traditionally laid 200m of unmanaged hedgerow (creating a significant amount of firewood shared with all living at Werndolau), laid water piping and electricity cabling, installed a caravan, strimmed half an acre of brambles, aided the installation of a staircase and cleared the courtyard its litter of broken slates.

With the new caravan installed another person was able to relocate to Werndolau. A woman and her young, home educated, son. Much the same as the foresters had, she also immediately began trying to reclaim the patch of farm surrounding her caravan from neglect. She trimmed willow from the hedges so that the bluebells could flourish, created a garden, fixed the outdoor toilet, removed disused stock fencing for use elsewhere and brought in firewood for all to use.

All this these 3 did for free, without expectation of pay, their only expectation was to, as promised, receive membership of Fox Housing Co-operative Ltd. The promises kept coming and they kept working. Chopping firewood, improving caravans, scrapping derelict caravans, sourcing and installing their replacements, taking on admin work for the co-op, such as managing the email box and finding quotes for work desperately needed to improve the farms crumbling infrastructure.

In the end though, as is ever the case, the traditional crisis of Fox caught up with the new comers and they were told to leave. They made numerous attempts to settle, to allow themselves time to set up their own co-operative (which is not an easy process) but instead the 'directors' served a section 21 notice on their properties showing they intended to have them evicted. The 'directors' knew that there was no way that the residents of Werndolau would have time to relocate themselves, and their businesses without considerable loss and stress. They tried to reason with the 'directors' in person and through others, but to no avail.

On March 7th of March 2011 the residents of Werndolau called a meeting, to be attended by themselves and the 'directors'. The intention of the meeting was to go through the rules and laws that the residents suspected that the'directors' had breached and see if they could make a proper account of themselves. Unfortunately the 'directors' did not attend. as a result the residents of Werndolau resolved to suspend the 'directors' of Fox Housing Co-operative Ltd. The 'directors' were notified that they were suspended on the 14th of March pending a full criminal investigation of their activities.

Suffice it to say, the 'directors' didn't take that very well. The residents of Werndolau have tried a number of times to settle the dispute. They feel that it is imperative that Fox Housing Co-operative Ltd stays co-operative. That is why people invested money, that is why Triodos bank invested money and that is why so many people have come to Werndolau looking to make it their home.

The residents of Werndolau now have a plan together to save Fox Housing Co-operative and to stop Werndolau from being. However, it most certainly isn't in the bag. Support is needed from all quarters, local people, investors, other co-ops and concerned individuals to call upon all parties to attend arbitration, where the matter can be settled by an impartial expert.

There is a strong hope that within the year the residents of Werndolau will be able to clean up the site completely, commence work on building more housing and be well on the way to making the land workable and biodiverse.