Quite a lot has happened since our open meeting in July. Here is a recap of the main things we have been working on.

We’ve agreed a pre-contractual sale agreement with the current owners. This gives us some time to develop our plans and work out whether the project stacks up. We’ve agreed to review progress on 30 November, and decide then on the next steps. We really appreciate the willingness of Kim and Suzanne (the current owners) to enter into this agreement. Thanks as well to Pauline Dodsworth as well for putting it all together.

We’ve sent our application to register as a Community Benefit Society to the Financial Conduct Authority. Thanks to Steve Batt, who kicked this all off, Dane from Co-operatives UK who helped us write our rules and objects, and to James Vigne and Pauline Dodsworth for agreeing to become founding members along with Michael McAndrew who will be the secretary. Once we are registered, we’ll open a bank account and start operating in the Society’s name.

Our county councillor, Steve Keable, has awarded us £559 from the Devon County Council locality budget: £240 towards registering the Community Benefit Society, £69 for a card reader and £250 to help us put on fundraising events. Thanks to Councillor Keable for his foresight in backing us early on, and to Bickleigh Parish Council for sponsoring the application. This is a significant milestone and has been a huge help in getting the ball rolling.

Matt Melksham, Peggy Heuer, Anne Wander and Gemma Davenport have started the business planning. Initially, we’re focusing on the cafe and shop, alongside simple ways of generating income from the rest of the building. The aim is to produce a financial model for the first few years, to work out how much money we will need to raise, and to put together a detailed timeline for the whole project.

We’ve received funded support from two community enterprise experts: Simon Borkin is supporting us through Community Energy Go, and Alan Collard is supporting us through Plunkett UK. Drawing on Simon and Alan’s expertise has already been a huge help and we look forward to continuing to work with them. A big thank you to Plunkett UK and Community Energy Go for providing this support.

We’ve started talking to potential funders and lenders. These early conversations are helpful in understanding what funding is available, and what funders expect from us. We are applying to the Reach Fund for £15,000 to help us get ready for social investment. If successful, this will allow us to pay for some of the specialist work needed to turn our plans into a proper investment proposition.

So, we’ve made some significant progress but we still have a long way to go. Our next big milestone is our review meeting on 30 November, by which time we hope to have established whether we have a viable route to buying and reopening the Mill.

If you’d like to get involved, we’d really like to hear from you. There is plenty still to do and we’d love to hear from people who can offer time, ideas, skills or local knowledge. Please email info@bickleighmill.org.uk and let us know how you can help.