Definatly have a look at funding, in scotland a community group can apply to the big lottery fund to buy premisis as long as you can prove you can aid the community and create “social gain”. This is for 240.000 grant so theres a start, I am sure there will be somthing similar in England. Look up the big lottery fund.
You could also recieve funding on an enviromental level by saying you will make the site more enviromentally friendly or by creating “educational” gardens and woodland areas,
Basically you have to convince the local community, the funders and the council that not only is this an invaluable space to the community now but that its going to be even better if you can buy it.
You will have to set up some sort of commitee or group to apply for the funding as you will need a chairperson, a secretary, a treasurer and a bank account. Research this carefully though as it may be different elsewhere in the UK.
Other avenues you can look at are setting up workshops for “dissadvantaged people” through local youth groups of rehab centres, or for “ethnic diversity” where you invite other communitys to mix with you.
always remember when filling in grant applications they love the jargon and key words, I have highlighted some of these with inverted commas”” to give you a start.
Good Luck
S.S.
