THE BRIDGE UPDATE: 22nd APRIL 2026

 

Joint announcement from Parchment Trust, Magdalen & Lasher and Little Gate Farm

 

Ahead of the transfer of The Bridge Community Centre from Parchment Trust, we would like to share news of the new charities involved:

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· Magdalen and Lasher will be the new owners – Magdalen and Lasher are delighted to secure the property for the good of the town and thrilled that Little Gate will be occupying and running it.

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· Little Gate Farm will occupy the site and deliver services – Little Gate is a charity enabling people with learning disabilities and autism to access employment, training and community opportunities. The charity will be running The Bridge as an inclusive space for the community and some of the Little Gate services will be based there.

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The three charities have been in talks since December 2025 and the transfer of ownership of The Bridge is now well underway, with final legal aspects in process. All charities are working at pace and are fully committed to ensuring the site is protected for community benefit.

 

We will make another joint announcement upon completion and at this point, will be able to share more detail around plans and expected timeframes for an opening. In the meantime, any initial enquiries can be made to info@littlegate.org.uk

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THE BRIDGE UPDATE: 26TH FEBRUARY 2026

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We wanted to share the good news that we have found a fantastic new owner for The Bridge and a legal process is now underway.

 

We are unable to share with you who the new owner will be until we have completed the process as it’s commercially sensitive, but we can tell you these things:

 

1. We have been in talks since December and recently reached an agreement

2. Two incredible charities are involved

3. They are both fully committed to ensuring that the covenants for community use are fulfilled

4. We have shared with them what the community told us was most important, and these things are being diligently built into their plans for The Bridge.

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A bit about the process we have taken

 

As described in our public statements, we have been fully committed to finding a rapid solution which meets the needs of the community and fulfils the covenants. We have been doing this whilst also following the necessary steps to fulfil our legal obligations of acting in the best interests of our charity. This has involved an initial period of testing the market (at market rate), as directed and laid out in our Charities Act Valuation, before considering other options.

 

To this end, we have been doing our due diligence and rejecting approaches from any organisation which we do not feel would or could fulfil the covenants, including property developers. We have also been openly sharing the true running costs with any worthy, interested party, which caused a few charities to walk away, as these costs are not insignificant. We wanted to be sure that the next organisation would be fully able to open and maintain The Bridge for years to come.

 

We are confident that we have now reached a great solution which should benefit everyone. Of course, as with any legal process, it is not a certainty until it is done, but we are all fully committed, working at speed and hopeful to complete within 3 months.

 

We will write again when we reach completion to share more detail.