In a message to supporters on the CrowdJustice legal costs appeal website, cafe founder Will Pouget says the cafe needs to raise £100,000 to survive its legal fight against the church.
To date, the appeal has raised £11,391 from 239 donors. We urge all of you to be as generous as you can in helping the cafe now. Here is the link to the appeal ...
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-the-vaults-and-garden-cafe/
Will Pouget's message...
"More than two years has passed since I and the cafe’s operating company were given three months’ notice as trespassers to quit the Old Congregation House by our landlord, the Parochial Church Council led by the vicar, the Revd Will Lamb.
The public response against the eviction proceedings which have followed has been demonstrated by the 15,660 supporters of the cafe who have signed the Save the Vaults petition on change.org.
At the time, I had no idea of the level of legal costs that would be needed to defend our claim that we had a statutory tenancy resulting from our 20 years of occupation and substantial investment in the premises.
As the legal process has unfolded, our costs have escalated dramatically and we have had the benefit of the advice of a leading firm of solicitors together with a barrister specialised in both property and ecclesiastical law. They have but extended credit to us in the belief that we will win our case eventually I had no idea when we began how long this might take.
We are now faced with a trial in the High Court in London and our legal costs are already in excess of £100,000 with the need for at least another £30,000 before trial begins at the end of October.
The Vaults & Garden has been a successful and profitable small business but is not able to afford the level of costs which have been incurred to date and which are needed to continue our fight.
Our opponent is a wealthy charity with assets of more than £2 million and income of more than £700,000 a year. We are a very small business by comparison and I have tried to settle this dispute without success despite my best efforts to seek mediation.
We need urgent financial help now if we are to survive this legal battle and continue to keep the Vaults & Garden open for the benefit of all of you who love us and the future of our devoted staff.
Thank you all for your help."
Please donate as much as you can at the CrowdJustice website and forward the appeal to all of your friends on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and X (Twitter).
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-the-vaults-and-garden-cafe/
We thank you all again.
team@savethevaults.com