Local group plans to buy outdoor learning centre

A local community group has put in a bid to buy an "iconic" outdoor learning centre.

Wylderne Bioregioning, a community benefit society based in the Forest of Dean, announced on Friday it had secured funding to buy The Wilderness Centre in Mitcheldean.

Dr Daniel Sturdy bought the centre from Gloucestershire County Council in 2014 but it was put on the market in 2023, initially for £1.5m.

Wylderne Bioregioning has put in a bid for the market value of the site, last assessed in February 2023, on behalf of the community.

The community benefit society was created in October 2023, in response to The Wilderness Centre being put up for sale.

It was sold by the county council 11 years ago due to budget cuts, and an attempt to keep it in the local community was "narrowly outbid", Wylderne Bioregioning said.

"We are grateful to our financial backers and to the Forest of Dean District Council, both of whom believe in our vision for the Wilderness," said Simon Dawson, one of four directors of Wylderne Bioregioning.

"This iconic place which has provided so many children across the Forest and Gloucestershire with their first formative nights away from home for over five decades, we hope will now forever be secure in community hands."

Wylderne Bioregioning plans to get the deal over the line by July, with the help of a community share offer, and hopes to raise the final £150,000 required.

The society said its vision is to turn The Wilderness Centre into "an environmental education centre" where the community can learn more about the Forest of Dean's "unique biodiversity" and "put the Forest's potential on the map".

Any money pledged before July will be converted to interest-bearing shares once the offer closes, it added.

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.