MEMBER NEWS MEMBER NEWS
NEWS FOR & FROM MEMBERS OF DEVON & PLYMOUTH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Millfields Trust invests in the local community
Most people know Millfields Trust offers high-quality office and light industrial space in the heart of the City Centre, but maybe they are not aware of the Trust’s reputation as Plymouth’s leading and pro- active social enterprise landlord. Established in 1999 as a trading
social enterprise, the trust was set up to help regenerate the Stonehouse neighbourhood in Plymouth. The mission was to create life-changing employment opportunities for residents in the heart of Stonehouse and rejuvenate Union Street as a civic spine, restoring the historic link between the city and Devonport. The trust has successfully fulfilled this remit by enabling SMEs to grow and develop, offering high-quality affordable business space for rental on excellent flexible terms. Since then, the
trust has developed its activities to include a number of innovative projects under the Charity Millfields Inspired umbrella, with projects such as Widening Horizons which is now in its 10th year. Josanne Stewart of Millfields Inspired, said: “Widening Horizons has helped over 2000 children in seven local primary schools to be inspired towards the world of work. Our aim is for
Lily Urbanska and the Jolly Roger
‘Over £1.2m has
been re-invested back into the Stonehouse
neighbourhood’
Stonehouse young people to be encouraged to raise their sights; gaining skills and growing in confidence and self-esteem so they are sought after as employees and some become employers of others. This is definitely our biggest achievement.” Another project is Grow Stonehouse. Currently in its second year, it’s going from strength to strength, engaging with the Stonehouse community through growing and cooking activities. Backed
by funding from the People’s Health Trust, residents are
encouraged to care for community gardens as
well as take part in seasonal
activities. #InspireMe is a project where 77
children engage in exciting practical activities, mainly run in school holidays at very low cost,
Millfields Trust offers high-quality office and industrial space
enjoying things like Outdoor Explorers, special effect make-up, engineering, coding, robotics, film making, sports, costume making and decoration as well as highly popular science experiments. In a different vein, MakersHQ, is a
unique collaboration between Plymouth College of Art and Millfields Trust to reignite fashion and textile manufacturing in the city. MakersHQ offers a training facility and a sampling studio, where emerging designers can pattern drafting, sample making and digital pattern grading for short production runs. The Trust now owns its first
residential property, providing a modern dwelling to a local young family who work in the area and
also owns a public house, The Lord High Admiral. With lots of ideas in the pipeline,
the Millfields Trust and Board is looking to the future and the impact it can make in Stonehouse. Roger Pipe, Chief Executive at
Millfields Trust, said: “Over £1.2m has been re-invested back into the Stonehouse neighbourhood over the past 20 years. Our efforts have been praised and recognised over the years, attracting investment into Plymouth and the support of our partners, including Plymouth City Council, European Union, Local Enterprise Partnership and Social Enterprise Mark.”
Visit:
www.millfieldstrust.com Visit:
www.millfieldsinspired.com
Spring 2019 Chamber Profile 5
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