Foxlease: Charity raising money to save girl guiding centre

Foxlease was once the home of Girlguiding and Girl Scouts in the UK

A former girl guiding group turned charity is raising money to buy back their old centre.

Foxie's Future is fundraising to save Foxlease, in Lyndhurst, after Girlguiding UK confirmed it plans to sell the activity centre.

The charity said that any closure would be a "huge loss of opportunity".

In a statement when the plan was first announced, Girlguiding UK said the sale would ensure the group was "financially sustainable for the future".

Activities are expected to continue at the centre until later in the year, when it will officially go on sale.

Vivienne Franklin went to Foxlease as a child and sent her daughters there

Vivienne Franklin, who is a trustee at Foxie's Future, said: "The loss of opportunities for the future, and also the heritage are the real drivers.

"Once places like this are gone, you'll never get them back, and that would be a tremendous shame."

She said the response the charity had seen since it was set up had been "incredible" and there was "overwhelming" support for saving the centre.

New Forest District Council recently made the site an asset of community value, which is intended to assist community groups by restricting sales to commercial developers.

Ms Franklin said the ruling was "an incredibly positive step forward".

Girlguiding UK said the sale would ensure the group was "financially sustainable for the future"

In a statement when the sale plan was first announced, Girlguiding UK said: "Girlguiding's board of trustees regularly reviews strategy, risk and resources, in order to focus on the organisation's core mission for all girls and to ensure it is financially sustainable for the future.

"Following a comprehensive review, the board of trustees have made the recommendation to sell the five activity centres Girlguiding owns."

Four other centres are also set close at the end of 2023, including Ynysgain Centre in Eryri National Park.

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