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Cash crisis at community farm could force closure

A community farm in Gateshead that cares for dozens of rare animals is under threat of closure unless it can find an immediate cash injection and a regular source of income and support.

Education Officer Hannah Davis with the goats. Credit: Bill Quay Farm

Bill Quay Community Farm needs to raise £50,000 by the end of August to ensure its survival and to feed and care for its animals.

Since Gateshead Council withdrew its support to the project, the Bill Quay Community Farm Association has survived on grants, but says these are fast running out.

The farm, which next year celebrates its 30th anniversary, is used to educate children.

As a Rare Breeds Survival Trust Approved Farm Park, all of the farm livestock is rare and indigenous.

"We are at the centre of the community here in Bill Quay. Every day we have a wide variety of visitors who come to the farm and see it as an essential part of their lives. These include people with disabilities or those who have additional needs and their carers, elderly people who come to meet friends and at the other end of the spectrum; we have mothers with their babies and toddlers who meet in the cafe for coffee and a catch up.

"The Association is urging everyone to support Bill Quay Community Farm's emergency appeal and help to ensure our very special animals continue to receive care and that the project continues for the good of the wider community. Everyone, staff and volunteers, have worked extremely hard to make the farm a place to be proud of and it is absolutely heart breaking to even consider the thought of closure."

– Jenny Wood, Chair, Bill Quay Community Farm Association