South Kerrier Alliance CIC
We have recently welcomed South Kerrier Alliance Community Interest Company (SKACIC) into emerging trust category membership of the DTA. SKACIC is a social enterprise, formed by volunteers, to address the needs and aspirations of the people of South Kerrier - Helston and its surrounding parishes. The company grew out of the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative; a Regional Development Agency programme which funded the generation of community plans.
The South Kerrier Alliance Community Plan is the foundation of its work. It forms a vision for what the community would like South Kerrier to be in the year 2026, and encompasses ambitious but practicable and achievable goals, now being worked on by theirDelivery Groups.
SKACIC has worked closely with local authorities and continue to liaise with them and other agencies in achieving the economic, social and environmental regeneration of South Kerrier. SKACIC also works closely with local voluntary and community groups.
Helston Cattle Market
SKA CIC’s flagship project is to develop the Old Cattle Market in Helston into a multi-use facility for use by the community and businesses. Following Community Consultation, in particular, a Planning for Real event, it was evident that the community not only wanted to see the site developed, but developed in a way that was linked to its previous use.
A Feasibility Study was carried out in 2005 taking on board the community aspirations and it concluded that any development required substantial income generating elements. It also concluded that it would be ideally suited to be managed by a social enterprise and the Alliance has expressed its interest in doing carrying out this function.
The development will house:
- Micro-business units
- Local food shop
- Visitor interpretation centre
- Market hall / conference centre
In order to move the development forward Kerrier District Council, who owned the site, brought the project to full planning permission stage. This involved commissioning architects plans, impact assessments and further consultation with the community, including SKACIC.
Planning permission has now been granted and the project is a pilot under Advancing assets for Communities Programme (year 4) with Cornwall Council.
See http://www.skacic.org.uk for more details
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Lyme Regis Development Trust
Situated on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, Lyme Regis is famous for its geology, fossils and unparalleled role in the birth of the earth science so in 2005 the Lyme Regis Development Trust organised the first Lyme Regis Fossil Festival.
Each year the Fossil Festival brings together teams of specialists from the Natural History Museum and other leading national scientific institutions and universities with local fossil collectors, artists and the community. The event features interactive exhibitions, fossil hunting walks and stimulating evening talks attracting over 7,000 visitors each year to include over 500 students on the Schools day.
The Trust is leading work on developing a world class Jurassic Coast Field Studies Centre. From 2012 Lyme Regis will become the venue for a Jurassic Coast Studies Centre which will team leading scientists from the Natural History Museum with the experience of the Field Studies Council and Lyme Regis Development Trust.
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Pewsey Area Community Trust
The Trust is working in partnership with the Barge Inn Community Project which hopes to purchase the lease of the pub and operate it as a profitable social enterprise. The village has already seen a number of its amenities close down, including the shop and post office.
The Barge Inn Community Project has been announced as one of the Village SOS scheme’s six winners and will receive a Big Lottery Fund grant of £273,840 to make the villagers’ dreams of taking over the pub a reality.
The villagers will use the funding to purchase the Barge Inn’s lease and operate it as a social enterprise, securing its future at the heart of the local community. The venture will also help to support tourism in Honeystreet, which is well known for the local crop circle phenomena and popular canal system, which runs right by the 200-year-old inn. Complementary enterprises such as a village shop and craft and drama workshops will also operate within the pub, and employment and learning opportunities for the locals will be created, as well as training for people with learning disabilities.
BBC One will document the village’s journey for a six-part series following the ups and downs of the new village business, from start up to trading. The series will be screened next year.
See their website for more information http://bargeinncommunityproject.com/default.aspx
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Millfields TrustDTA member wins the 2nd Annual Social Enterprise Photography competition. A social enterprise in Plymouth has been crowned the winner of the 2nd Annual Social Enterprise Photography competition. Millfields Trust saw off competition from the winners in each of the eight other English regions to be voted the champion by a panel of the UK’s Social Enterprise Ambassadors. The competition called for images which show how social enterprise is more than just business as usual. Millfields Trust’s winning photo was taken by Peter Dukes and shows local schoolchildren celebrating their graduation from the Widening Horizons project.
The project involved Year Five children from six local primary schools in Stonehouse, Plymouth participating in a programme of workshop activities to allow them to see first hand a wide range of different work opportunities. The aim was to raise the aspirations of the children by showing them all the options available to them in their future careers.
