Created in the spirit of the Dalai Lama. Loved by thousands. Now at risk of being lost.

Please sign and share to help keep Cascades Gardens open -  and to push for fair solutions for mortgage prisoners.

“Every action has a universal dimension, a potential impact on others’ happiness…
it is important to consider what we do carefully to ensure that we do not harm others.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in a personal letter to Alan Clements, 2006

Set in the heart of Derbyshire, Cascades Gardens is more than a garden. For over 30 years, it has been a place of reflection - rooted in compassion, created out of loss, and shaped by the teachings of the Dalai Lama.

Built in a former deserted quarry, it is now a place of peace and reflection open to the public, welcoming thousands of visitors each year. Many describe it as a place of stillness, transformation and comfort.

🌿 An RHS Partner Garden

🌿 A supporter of the National Garden Scheme for over 20 years
🌿 Home to a newly created Japanese Tea Garden, designed with guidance from the Japanese Garden Society

But Cascades Gardens is now under serious threat.

 💸 A Mortgage Trap That’s Destroying Lives

Like thousands of others across the UK, our family became mortgage prisoners - trapped in a financial nightmare that began with the 2008 crash and deepened when our mortgage was sold to a closed-book lender: Landmark Mortgages in our case.

FCA complaints data shows Landmark Mortgages has a complaints rate far above the industry average (37.7 per 1,000 accounts vs 6.8).

Our situation is not unique. Hundreds of thousands of people are currently paying punishing interest rates from 8 to 12% - because they cannot switch providers. Through no fault of their own, they are stuck with inactive lenders that offer no alternatives.

To put it simply: families like ours, trapped in these impossible situations since 2008, have lived with fear and uncertainty for over 15 years. We've made sacrifices, worked hard, and done everything we can just to keep a roof over our heads.

Had we been with a mainstream high street bank, many of us would have paid off our mortgages by now, owning our homes in security. Instead, we are being pushed to the edge, forced out of our homes, all because of a system that refuses to offer fair terms or a path forward.

This isn’t just financial misfortune - it’s a systemic failure. And it’s robbing people not only of homes, but of peace, dignity and health.

Landmark has refused to engage meaningfully and is now threatening repossession of our home and the garden.

This would destroy Cascades Gardens.

Not from necessity - but from indifference and inaction.

 
✊ What We’re Calling For

We call on Landmark Mortgages to agree to separate the garden land from the mortgage title, so Cascades Gardens can be preserved for public use.

We call on UK Government, FCA and HM Treasury to deliver justice for all mortgage prisoners 

We support existing proposals backed by MPs and Lord Sharkey, including:

• Capping SVR interest rates on closed-book lenders
• Facilitating transfers to active lenders
• Providing financial support
• Enabling access to redress through legal and regulatory reforms
   
  🙏 Why This Matters

Alan Clements has dedicated his life to helping others - from his humanitarian work under the patronage of the Dalai Lama to opening Cascades Gardens as a refuge for all who seek peace.

At the heart of the garden sits a golden Buddha statue, donated in 2021 by the Aldershot Buddhist Centre in memory of Riki Hyde-Chambers OBE - a dear friend of the Dalai Lama and longtime supporter of Tibet in the UK. Riki’s life of service embodied the same values the garden was built to honour.

To destroy this space would be to erase something irreplaceable.

📜 More About Cascades Gardens:

🎥 BBC Radio Derby Interview: “From heartbreak to a place of peace - the story behind Cascades Gardens’ creation” (2019)🌐 Website: www.cascadesgardens.com
📘 Facebook: Cascades House and Garden📰 i Paper Article: “I’ve Been Trapped in My Mortgage for Years..”
🌿 RHS Listing: RHS Partner Gardens
🌼 NGS Feature: NGS Garden for Health – Derbyshire
🧩 Non-Profit Support: UK Mortgage Prisoners

Learn more about Mortgage Prisoners here

Landmark Mortgages Limited (company information)

 🙌 How You Can Help:

• Sign and share this petition widely.
• Visit Us: The garden is now open for the new season. Your entry fees, B&B bookings, and plant purchases directly support our legal fight and help maintain the garden: www.cascadesgardens.com
• Please support our Go Fund Me campaign - every contribution will help protect Cascades Gardens.

We stand in solidarity with the wider movement for justice - including the tireless work the UK Mortgage Prisoners - who have been raising awareness and fighting for change for years. This petition adds our voice to that growing call: for fairness, compassion, and real solutions.