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The Manuka Club was founded in May 2003 by Benjamin Goldsmith, and operates as a donor network for individuals who wish to oppose irreversible losses of the British countryside to unnecessary development. The Club is the UK’s only dedicated source of funding for community-based campaigns, and is in touch with over 50 different local groups.
The Club was launched against the background of several major new Government initiatives that pose urgent threats to Britain’s open spaces. These are:
- A major increase in house-building, with up to 1.2 million new homes planned for the South of England alone in four nominated Growth Areas;
- A green light for the building of toxic waste incineration plants in order to comply with the requirements of the EU Landfill Directive;
- A return to the ‘predict and provide’ traffic growth model with plans for a series of major road-building schemes;
- Approval of massive increases in airport capacity to accommodate rising demand.
There are good reasons why the Club has chosen to support local groups campaigning against specific developments in these four areas:
- The developments in question are usually proposed and approved, piecemeal, at a local authority level. Local groups are best placed to oppose plans for airport expansion, road-building, urban sprawl and incineration facilities as and when they occur;
- Research into environmental grant-making patterns reveals that very little money is available for such campaigns at local level;
- A little money goes a long way in supporting local groups, whose greatest assets are the freely-given time, skills and determination of individuals. A campaign can be enhanced with relatively small sums of money to cover, for instance, the printing of information leaflets or premises hire for a public meeting.
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Prior to the Club’s launch, extensive consultation took place with leading figures in the environmental movement and veterans of local or ‘grass roots’ campaigning. This helped us to identify the major needs of local campaigners, and informed the Club’s strategy for meeting these needs. Initially the Club has focused on two areas of activity – a Training Programme that equips individuals and groups with key media, campaign strategy and organisational skills, and a Small Grants Programme which disburses money to groups engaged in effective local campaigns that also have broader significance.
The Club also supports larger pieces of work where they are felt to be in the strategic interests of community groups. This might involve policy research that is relevant to a wide range of local scenarios, the building of stronger campaign networks upon specific issues, or national activities that strengthen the voice of the grass roots base overall.
The Club is exploring work in relation to the legal system too. Currently, community groups face a ‘David and Goliath’ situation in the courts, where they may be liable for legal bills running into many thousands of pounds if they lose. The Club is in touch with leading environmental lawyers in an attempt to find ways to improve public access to environmental justice.
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