How Greenham Trust makes sure charity really does begin at home

Greenham Trust was formed 26 years ago. So began a story of redevelopment of the former RAF Greenham Common airbase for the benefit of the local community.

Together with many sites in southern England, Greenham Common was commandeered by RAF Bomber Command during March 1944. It became one of the disembarkation points for D-Day troops and in the 1980s, it achieved notoriety as one of the sites chosen for nuclear cruise missiles in the UK during the Cold War, with the women’s peace campaign based in camps at various points around the perimeter.

Now known as Greenham Business Park, the site is quieter these days. The aeroplanes, missiles and protesters have made way for HGVs, the barrack blocks and hangars replaced by modern offices, production units and warehouses.

The park is owned and managed by Greenham Trust, which was formed by a team led by Sir Peter Michael in 1997 to buy the then redundant airbase from the MoD. The objective was to create a property centred social enterprise that would lease buildings to companies and generate a rental income that net of management costs would create surpluses for charitable giving in West Berkshire and north Hampshire.

Fast forward 26 years and most of the military buildings have been replaced by modern ones, with rents of more than £12/sq ft achieved for warehouse/industrial space and more than £20/sq ft for offices. The site has become a hub for food production companies including English Provender, Fuchs Group and Dalziel. It also hosts a major distribution depot for EVCargo and offices for Sovereign Housing Association.

Thanks to all the redevelopment that has taken place, the site has shot up in value from the £7.5m it was purchased for in 1997 to £106m in its most recent valuation. The rental income is nearly £7m a year and supports charitable giving of between £3m to £5m each year, amounting to more than £70m cumulatively since the trust was formed. This has benefited charities of all types through grants towards vital running costs, projects and buildings – more than 120 village halls have received funding for everything from kitchen refurbishment to complete rebuilds.

The average grants are relatively small – between £2,500 and £3,000 – but there have been some large ones too, including £1.5m awarded to a renal dialysis and chemotherapy centre and £500,000 to refurbish an existing chemotherapy centre. Money has also been given for MRI and CT scanners and to support local theatres, Newbury Corn Exchange and The Watermill theatre, in both cases alongside funding from the Arts Council for England.

A major development phase on the park, funded by abrdn, completed last year and with the benefit of the enhanced modern environment this helped us create, which includes an arts centre and café, we are well positioned to attract occupiers.

Many charitable activities of the trust involve property. We are currently actively looking for suitable multi-occupancy residential properties for both Afghan and Ukrainian nationals who are already accommodated in the local area. Plus, we are working on a likely £4m to £5m dementia care centre, which we will own and lease to a service providing charity. We are likely to have other local trusts supporting this project and Greenham will become the long-term custodian of the building.

We will continue to grow our portfolio at Greenham with around 500,000 sq ft of our planning consent left and at least 200,000 sq ft of current enquiries. All this is covered by our simplified Local Development Order planning regime, which allows us to gain detailed consent within a month, a major benefit when attracting occupiers, as is our charitable giving, which they like for their ever-more important ESG credentials.

We strongly believe other communities could also benefit from a model like Greenham Trust. West Berkshire and north Hampshire is a relatively affluent area but still has significant charitable needs. In other areas of the UK, the demand will no doubt be much larger – we are here to help any local authority or government departments that might seek a beneficial solution for surplus development land.