Friends of Freemans Wood CIO
Freemans Wood is a public green space located off New Quay Road in the Marsh area of Lancaster. It was designated as a Town Green in 2020 after a long legal battle to protect it from development. The land was purchased by the Friends of Freeman's Wood Charitable Incorporated Organisation in April 2023 with the generous support of the local population.
Our mission as FFW CIO is to promote, for the benefit of the public, the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of Coronation Field and Freeman’s Wood, Lancaster, including promoting biological diversity and encouraging community engagement with local green spaces.
The Friends of Freeman’s Wood (FFW) completed the purchase of 27 acres of land in April 2023, which includes the Freeman’s Wood Town Green and a smaller rectangle of woodland between the Town Green and Coronation Field, off Willow Lane in Lancaster.
Jon Barry - who is chair of the charity, said “Thank you to every one of the nearly 800 people who made ‘square-holder’ donations and helped to bring the land into local community ownership. We are also grateful to the Lancaster University Wind Turbine Community Benefit Fund and two other charitable trusts who provided grants towards the next stages of our project.”
In Summer 2023 FFW worked with Proffitt’s CIC to develop a masterplan for making Freeman’s Wood more accessible and welcoming. Members of the local community were consulted on the draft masterplan through an event at Hornets Bar, an online questionnaire, and a visit to Freeman’s Wood with children and staff from Marsh Community Centre. The responses to the consultation informed the final masterplan.
Keep up to date by signing up to our newsletter!
With regular updates about land developments, and activities organised by Friends of Freemans Wood.
Thank you for subscribing
We hope to see you soon at one of our walks!
Friends of Freemans Wood is a registered charity (no. 1202583)
