Titchfield Haven and Haven House Development Fund

We urgently need support to help fund our proposal to save Titchfield Haven and Haven House.

The decision to sell Haven Cottage and Haven House was made in early December by Hampshire County Council (HCC) and as a result, the café and visitor centre was closed on 23 December 2022.

Following this decision, HCC advised Fareham Borough Council of its intention to sell Haven House. Because Haven House is listed as an Asset of Community Value, it cannot be sold for a period of six months, allowing a local community interest group or local charity the time to develop a proposal.

The Trust submitted a written request to be treated as a prospective bidder to potentially take on the ownership of the National Nature Reserve and/or Haven House, working closely with the Hill Head Residents Association. We have limited time and will need to pay for professional advice, surveyors or consultants to help us draw up a sound proposal before the deadline of 13 June 2023.

What happens now?

We are working closely with the Hill Head Residents Association (HHRA), members of which are in the process of setting up a new community charity, the Titchfield Haven Community Hub (THCH) to allow it to bid for Haven House. We are working together to develop a proposal. There is a lot to do in a short space of time.

At this stage we are working on the basis that there are three possible scenarios:

Scenario 1: That the Trust takes on ownership and management of Titchfield Haven NNR and THCH takes on ownership and management of Haven House. In this scenario we will develop a joint proposal informed by two separate but connected business plans. The charities will form a formal partnership so that some of the income generated by THCH from running Haven House will be donated to the Trust for managing the nature reserve.

Scenario 2: That the Trust takes on the ownership and management of both Titchfield Haven NNR and Haven House. In this scenario we will put in a single proposal and the Trust will probably lease the building to THCH.

Scenario 3: That the Trust cannot come up with a financially acceptable business plan and withdraws from the process. THCH may still proceed with a proposal for the building.

We need your support

Based on the huge response to the local petition organised by the Hill Head Residents Association to save Haven House, and the subsequent correspondence that the Trust has received when we started to talk about our potential interest in the nature reserve – we believe that our proposal(s) will be supported by the local community.

Donate now to support our development fund and help cover the cost of professional advice, consultants or other costs associated with preparing our bid to save Titchfield Haven and Haven House.

If we raise more than we need for the development of our bid and our proposal is successful, all additional funds shall be used towards the future management of Titchfield Haven and Haven House. If our proposal is unsuccessful, all funds (over those required to prepare our bids) shall be used towards the management of other HIWWT nature reserves in Hampshire.

For all the latest updates about the bid development and how you can get involved and support our proposals as they develop, sign-up to our e-newsletter now.

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