A much-loved urban farm which was facing the prospect of permanent closure has managed to raise vital funds to keep running for now.
Deen City Farm in Merton closed to the public on March 18 amid the coronavirus crisis.
Spring and summer is the busiest time for the farm and brings in about £150,000 over four months which keeps it going throughout the year.
Usually at this time of year the farm would be crowded with families keen to see the newborn lambs.
The farm is free to enter and makes money from a cafe and riding school.
Manager Nick Golson said: “We’ve got 12 horses and 100 animals who need food, we can’t drop our costs that much. The minimum we can run on is about £20,000 a month.”
And the team at the farm was overwhelmed with the support they received when they set up an online fundraising page.
It has already raised more than £22,000 with hundreds of moving messages about how much the farm means to local people.
“Raising money is hard, there are so many good causes out there, we thought anything would be a bonus,” said Nick.
“To see it move on to the point where we have £22,000 is amazing.
“We had a lot of pocket money donations, it makes me very emotional.
“We just need to survive this so we can reopen. We are in a fairly urban area on the edge of London, to have a five-acre farm is something that locals value.
“The place survived foot and mouth, but that was a few weeks of limiting access to places with animals. This is quantums more dramatic than that.”
Deen City Farm has 16 members of staff as well as seasonal casual workers. But now, all but five workers have been furloughed.
The farm is still fundraising for its ongoing costs as it now looks likely it will not be able to reopen for any of the usually busy summer months.
“Normally at this time of the year the farm would be full with children, now it is absolute silence,” said Nick.
“We just want to say thank you so much to the help we’ve had, it has been overwhelming.”
The fundraising page can be found here: www.justgiving.com/campaign/savedeencityfarm
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