09/10/2026
One thing we've managed throughout the campaign is to have email issues 🤭 - already hearing that some subscribers haven't received our latest email although I can also see that 515 of you have also opened it, so that's good news that word is getting out there :)
Please find it in full here for all to read...
Lovely supporters,
It's been a while since I've been in touch, but as usual we've been very busy and a great deal has been going on behind the scenes.
On this occasion - I bring significant news.
Full disclosure: this news may not be what anyone was hoping for or expecting to read today. As a team, we've had some time to absorb and process the possibilities and we believe there is a silver lining, which we hope will be realised in time and may result in a positive outcome for all.
As you may be aware, at the beginning of September and following a period of marketing of Heath Barn on the open market by Herts County Council, we submitted an updated version of our Bid. Up to this point, we kept the details of our Bid quiet, wary that developers might snoop on our website or social media to ascertain our offer amount and gain insight into anticipated renovation costs. I'm pleased to finally share our Executive Briefing document and Full Bid (which includes a business plan and letters of support) - you can click through to them via our website homepage here.
The Executive Briefing document is designed to be read alongside the Bid, which consists of 164 pages and covers everything you could want to know about the community proposal! It makes for a blinkin' good read and remains something we're very proud of.
So, then what happened?
We had (wrongly) assumed that the next stage was for our Bid to be voted upon at the County Performance and Resources Cabinet Panel meeting in October. This followed Councillors demonstrating a strong desire, in the January Panel meeting, to see a community proposal brought forward from Our Heath Barn. We were, of course, quietly hoping there would be no other bids, an idea which, on reflection, seems naive – we know it's a beautiful building with heaps of potential.
Two weeks ago, the HCC officer for Property and disposal and our main point of contact at the Council requested a Teams call. During this call, he immediately shared the disappointing news that our Bid would not be taken forward as a Recommended Bid and there were two other strong bids. The main concerns for our proposals were around Risk; namely that we could not offer assurances around future funding for renovation from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. I would say at this point (and you will be able to read from reading our Executive briefing) that, having spoken with the National Lottery, there was a no-risk opportunity here whereby the Council could have partnered with us (if they so wished) to lead on a lottery application.
A later conversation with Cllr England and Cllr Lucas on Teams, however, suggested that it was very much about delivering on the capital receipt and 'best value', i.e. acquisition value. Quite simply, the gap between our offer and the offer of the recommended bid was just too wide, meaning social / community value (which our proposal could offer in bucketloads) could not be referenced to justify value/best consideration. Basically, our offer for acquisition was not anywhere near high enough.
So, what's the Recommended Bid and who are they?
It's a nursery! We see this as a positive and definitely a preferred option over an all-residential option. I think many of you will feel similarly. The named developer is the Curwen Group. We are unable to find out very much at all about them or their past projects but have been informed they have a good track record, which includes experience of converting listed buildings.
And the silver lining?
This morning, Gill, Dave and I, attended the follow-up meeting at the Resources and Performance Cabinet Panel meeting at Robertson House in Stevenage. Cllr Adrian England offered a brilliant introduction, speaking on behalf of the Our Heath Barn team. Going into the meeting, our hope was all councillors felt informed. I had also emailed them all prior to this with our ongoing concerns, the full Bid and a main ask of brokering an introduction between Our Heath Barn and the nursery developer/operator. We felt uplifted and encouraged that Councillors had remembered the case of Heath Barn, acknowledging our Bid, the hard work that had gone into it, and the amount raised in only three months. You can watch the meeting from 6 minutes via the link in the comments – it's a good watch, with most Councillors urging officers to introduce the winning bidder to Our Heath Barn, to allow the exploration of possibilities in factoring in a community element. Following the meeting, we had a brief conversation with officers in the corridor who confirmed they would help set up a meeting with the Curwen Group. We see this opportunity as a win!
And what of the all-community scheme?
As much as we would have liked to have thought we could overturn the Recommendation to favour the community scheme, the value that we suspect the Curwen Group is offering is likely around the £1 million mark. Even with more time, we'd struggle to ever reach that amount and, without backing from the Council that they could lead on a funding application, we'd be in no better position than we currently are. We do have a couple of concerns... our proposal came under a great deal of scrutiny, hence the level of detail in our Bid and research we provided to mitigate any questioning around viability; meanwhile, the details of the Curwen Group remain unseen. We also have some concerns not just for the current proposed use as a nursery, but to ensure its future care. We're hopeful that any worries we may have can be addressed with them directly and early.
What happens regarding the £17,000 raised from the Crowdfunder?
As detailed during our fundraising, this amount will be held on to safely in the Our Heath Barn company account for now and until we have clarity around next steps. To reassure, this money will not be donated or distributed elsewhere. The hope is these funds will facilitate a community scheme at Heath Barn.
What about the amount I pledged in preparation for the community share offer going live?
We appreciate that there is a likelihood that, although we are hopeful about the outcomes of our conversation with the Curwen Group, it is likely things will look quite different from what we'd envisioned. We have asked Co-ops UK to pause our application to set up the Charitable Community Benefit Society and, therefore, the launch of a share offer. For now, we propose holding on to the details of all pledgees (unless you request removal from our list). We will schedule another meeting after talking with Curwen to discuss how things look following that conversation with them. If anyone has any further questions regarding this, feel free to reply to this email.
Looking ahead...
We've journeyed through all the emotions on our side – a strange grief in realising that what we had modelled and planned for the site is unlikely to come to fruition in the same way, a sense of relief that the nursery option has been chosen over a residential scheme (and therefore a wider community benefit will potentially be felt by families of young children), and light in the potential that a conversation with the developer to incorporate a community element may hold.
It's not a definite outcome, but there's a possibility there, and we do love to pull at the thread of possibility.
My hope from a Bid (having never contributed towards anything like this before) was that it would make officers and councillors stop, think and ponder the 'what if' potential of the building for the community and I think it more than achieved that.
As a core team, Gill, Dave and I have been stretched into areas of learning that we never could have anticipated. We've approached everything with curiosity; we've built on ideas and magnified details, and what we don't know, we've sought to find out. Personally speaking, I am incredibly thankful and proud of everything the team has achieved so far and the contributions from our wider team of nine. A huge thank you must go to Cllr Adrian England -we are incredibly grateful for his commitment to seeing the best outcome for Heath Barn and his advocacy of the Our Heath Barn proposal over the past nine months.
We have always been ambitious, but we are also realistic and can adapt to a new vision which may end up creating a brighter win for all.
And thank YOU! I hope you will see from reading the document just how much hard work, love and care we have poured into delivering this. It's a love letter to the potentiality of a place that has held so much life, joy and creativity throughout the years and which we have experienced through the stories and experiences you have shared with us and the shared hopefulness around Heath Barns future.
Possibilities still lie on the horizon. Let's see what happens....
Update to follow once we've spoken with Curwen.
With Best Wishes,
Lisa, Gill, Dave and the Our Heath Barn Team x
ps. Kinda pleased it won't be turned into 'a freaking big mansion' ;)
