This page is in the process of being adjusted! last updated 18/08/2010 (TALLY WITH THE MEM AND ARTS!! )

• Pay the 'General Membership' fee of £250. Most of that money will be held in the 'Land Roots Land Account' until we are ready to buy land. (see – 'How the General Membership money will be spent')

• When on the land - to abide by the general rules/guidelines and act in the spirit and ethics of Land Roots

• Have their 'General Membership' transferred into a ‘Root Membership' when land is bought and a 'Land Roots Regional Co-operative' (or Community Land Trusts or other suitable legal entity) is formed to take over the ownership and running of that land.

• 'General Member's may decide which piece of Land Roots Regional land they want to become 'Rooted Member's of. but we would like to be able to use your contribution to buy land anywhere in the country, then when enough people buy into that land - your contribution will be freed up to buy land in an area more local to you. 

• We would also like members to promote Land Roots amongst your friends, family and community, so that the opportunity is spread as widely as possible and you will be in the company of your friends and loved ones when you gather on the land.

What happens if there are not enough people contributing and no land is bought?

• If after 5 years Land Roots have bought no land then 'General Members' may apply for 80% of their money back. (see – 'How the General Membership money will be spent')

• When suitable land has been found, the money in the 'Land Roots Land Account' will be used to purchase this land, General Members will have a say in this decision making (see 'Land Searcher' and 'voting')

Within 2 years of the land being bought the ownership of the land shall be transferred from Land Roots CLG into a suitable Land Roots Regional Co-operative (or Community Land Trusts or other suitable legal entity) that will be set up for the purpose. The 'General Members' who contributed to that land will automatically become 'Root Members' of the new Co-operative (or Community Land Trusts or other suitable legal entity). The new organisation will retain strong links with Land Roots CLG.

Further information on ‘Root Membership’ 

A 'Root' is the next step on from 'General Membership' - ie, it has been Rooted in land. When the land is acquired, members will be issued with a ‘Root Certificate’ which signifies co-ownership of that particular piece of land? (the ‘general member’ now becomes a ‘Root member’…Rooted

Land Roots Limited will administer the 'Root Certificates' of the Land Roots Co-operative (or Community Land Trusts or other suitable legal entity) to the general membership once land has been bought.

Once the land is purchased, the ownership of the land will be transferred from Land Roots CLG to a specially created Land Roots Co-operative(or Community Land Trusts or other suitable legal entity), which will hold the land on behalf of the members of that Co-operative (or Community Land Trusts or other suitable legal entity) – (which will be the people (local or not) who have contributed their membership money into buying that piece of land) and their general membership will be transferred to a co-ownership in that Land Roots Co-operative.

• Have £200 (80% of their membership fee) transferred from holding bank to the land, giving them a co-ownership ‘Root-Share’

What do you get for ‘Root Membership’? (put in rights of entitlement here!)

• the 'Root' is a ‘foot in the door’ , (see planning permission) enabling Land Roots to buy land on behalf of its members.

• A ‘Root' ownership represents ‘28 days of Gatherings’ in each calender year: ie entitles the ‘Root Member’ to come and stay on the land for 28 days out of each year (this could be 1 x 28, 2 x 14 or 4 x 7 days etc) to be part of the Land Roots gatherings.

• There may be up to 100% off some workshops?

• There may be differences between what the various Regional Co-ops offer - this will be up to the collective of people who have 'Root Membership' in that land co-op.

What you don’t get for your 'Root Membership'

• You don’t get an area of land that is specifically yours to do with as you will…there will be ways for some people to do this, but this will be through a different mechanism, for which membership will be the first step.

• 'Root's do not pay a dividend. 

General comments about ‘Root’s:

• This is not a share - we will not float the ‘Root’ on the open market, as we are a private limited company not a public limited company.

• 'Root Membership' has to work to the advantage of both the ‘Root’ member and Land Roots as a whole, on each piece of LR land.

• Land Roots could opt for different levels of price and involvement at a later stage as long as it retains its ethics of equality and affordability.

• Your 'Root Membership' could be transferred to another piece of land that is held by Land Roots

• This will be a lifetime membership and may be passed on to your child.

  • When land Roots holds more pieces of land, a ‘Root-Share’ ownership could be transferred from one piece of land to another. How?

  • Members may have the option to transfer to another piece of land when enough money has been accrued to buy new land. (Or could choose which piece of land to buy into, at a later stage)

  • 'Root Members' in one piece of Land Roots Regional land, may have the option to transfer their membership to another piece of Land Roots Regional land.

It could possibly be sold back to land roots or sold on to another person??Or it has no monetary value, and can-not be sold, its value is in time on the land. Check with Jo x

Your Membership contribution isn't a 'Share' in the legal term – but we will be :

• Sharing some of our time and energy

• Sharing some of the responsibilities

• Sharing in the decision making process

• Possibly sharing some of the bills – or fund raising together

• Sharing some of the food grown, the sunshine, the laugh's and the fun!

   

Democracy, governance and participation:

What say do 'General Members' and 'Root Members' have in decision making?

General members:

• 1 'General Member ' = 1 vote at the AGM and other open meetings.

• Decisions about:

1.  

   1. Land to be bought (See 'Land Searcher')

   2. Passing on land from Land Roots CLG to a Regional Land Roots Co-operative (or Community Land Trusts or other suitable legal entity).

   3. Appointment of Directors of Land Roots CLG

Root Members:

• Full time people on the land (Land Based Community) or employed and volunteer workers on the land (land partners?) may need to get more than 1 vote, regarding the particular land that they live and or work on? As they have more of a stake in the land and know it better.

General comments about ‘Root’s:

• This is not a share - we will not float the ‘Root’ on the open market, as we are a private limited company not a public limited company.

• 'Root Membership' has to work to the advantage of both the ‘Root’ member and Land Roots as a whole, on each piece of LR land.

• Land Roots could opt for different levels of price and involvement at a later stage as long as it retains its ethics of equality and affordability.

What we would like all our members to do:

• We would like our members to try and promote Land Roots amongst their friends, family and community, so that this opportunity is spread as widely as possible and land can be collectively bought around the country. There are many way's you can promote Land Roots easily and quickly (see website for suggestions - the wider this opportunity is spread - the faster land will be bought.

Frequently Asked Questions:

When Land Roots buys another piece of land nearer to me – or Land is bought that I want to be a part of more than the original piece of land that I had my 'Root Membership' in, can I transfer my 'Root Membership' from one to the other? Yes – see 'Transferability'

What if I want to have 'Root Membership' in several Land Roots Regional Co-operatives around the country? That's great, this will cost £250 for each 'Root Membership'

Will I be able to visit the other pieces of Land Roots land even if I am not a 'Root Member' of that land? Yes, we want members to be able to travel between the pieces of land, this will be by prior arrangement with the management team who are running that land and may incur a small cost per nights camping.

Subscription / Payment / Contribution: people sign up and pledge a contribution of £250 to Land Roots CLG, to have access to the product/service, before the actual purchase of the land.

Definition of General Membership: Anyone who has paid the 'General Membership' fee of £250 is a 'General Member'. It is the stage before the 'Root Membership'.

What if I ant to put money into Land Roots but I don't want to become a member?

Your donations are very welcome!

* 1 person           =      £250
* 1000 people   =      £250,000
* 4000 people   =      £1,000,000
That's enough money to buy land to host gatherings for the land collective and their families and friends and grow food too.

Just £21 per month over 1 year!

This opportunity is open to everyone and we would especially like to encourage farmers, eco-builders, community organisers, musicians, environmentalists, artists, crafts people, workshop leaders, writers, teachers, holistic healers, gardeners, and YOU.

If you are part of a group aiming to buy land and you have similar aims to Land Roots, there may be ways of linking together to our mutual advantage – please get in touch.

OTHER STUFF TO DEAL WITH LATER

• Cost - done

• definition - done

• rules

• value

• transferability - done

• voting rights - done

• other rights - put in rights of entitlement

Consultation and community:

See voting - General Members will be consulted at various times... when?

Employment opportunities:

There will be employment opportunities once land is bought... if you think you have the right skills to offer - email us and one of our team will get back to you.

Dividend Share: Land Roots CLG will not have Dividend Shares, however this may be developed after the land is bought and the land is transferred from Land Roots CLG to a Land Roots Regional Co-operative (or Community Land Trusts or other suitable legal entity) The Dividend Shares will build up working capital to allow the Co-operative to trade and develop, allowing surpluses to be made to service a dividend payout to share holders.

Legal jargon: Land Roots is a CLG and by becoming a member you agree to contribute a sum not exceeding £1 whilst you remain a member and for 1 year afterwards (in the case of dissolution of the company)

Rules: ...... write them!

Many small amounts of money soon add up to a large amount and by paying £250 each we can quickly build up the capital to buy land throughout the country that we can share the enjoyment of.

2 steps - Become a member then join the Land Collective !this bit may change in the new year

Step 1.  Become a Member – for £1 - this limits your legal liability to just the £1 you spend on membership. For this we will keep up to date with all the latest news from Land Roots through our periodic newsletters.

(£1 = emails. For postal mail membership will cost will cost £10 per year)

Joining the land collective gives you

Rights of Entitlement  to use of the land.

 Step 2. Join the Land Collective - Affordability for everyone is the key - so were inviting members to make a one off payment of £250 each to become part of the Land Collective – you could choose to pay £20 per month on a standing order for 1year.

All the money will go to buy land, run the organisation and develop the land in an environmentally sustainable way.

* 1 person           =      £250
* 1000 people   =      £250,000
* 4000 people   =      £1,000,000
That's enough money to buy land to host gatherings for the land collective and their families and friends and grow food too.

Just £20 per month over 1 year!

This opportunity is open to everyone and we would especially like to encourage farmers, eco-builders, community organisers, musicians, environmentalists, artists, crafts people, workshop leaders, writers, teachers, holistic healers, gardeners, and YOU.

If you are part of a group aiming to buy land and you have similar aims to Land Roots, there may be ways of linking together to our mutual advantage – please get in touch.

 
Value

• influence through consultation and internal conferencing?

• newsletters

• certain voting rights

Financing the farm buildings will be sorted separately from financing the land.

You can get up dates and keep in touch on our main Land Roots Facebook

or for Land Local to you:

'Collective Land Action Networks' (CLANs) are regional networks of Land Roots members, partners and other interested parties. If you're around these areas and want to chat about local land news and opportunities, you can link up to the first few Regional 'Collective Land Action Network' Facebook pages below:

Land Roots East Midlands Area CLAN

Land Roots Chesterfield / Sheffield Area CLAN

Land Roots Somerset Area CLAN

Land Roots South East Area CLAN

Land Roots Wye Valley / Forest of Dean Area CLAN

 The more people that join

The more land that ordinary people will collectively own

the more power we will have to improve the quality of life

of our communities and our planet

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