We’ve been a little quiet of late due to having our heads down in setting up a new CIC (Community Interest Company). Here’s an update on the past few months.
On 15th May we officially incorporated as a CIC, bringing with it a new name (farewell to the Bedminster Property Partnership, hello Bedminster Works), a new look, a new website, and a new Board of Directors.
We’ve welcomed James Perrott and Milly Warner as new Directors who are joining Lucy Warin and Anna Ralph, who have been stewarding the project as Interim Directors to the point of incorporation. James is also working part time as the Interim Programme Lead.
Windmill Hill City Farm is now stepping down from the role of Fiscal Host but will remain as a founding partner and member of the CIC as part of the ‘Local Property Partnership’, alongside Action Greater Bedminster, Share Bristol, Ocean Estate Agents, and Bristol City Council.
We’re developing a set of early-stage projects and already starting to see the benefits of our approach. So far we’re:
- Supporting Way Out West to explore options for a community-use of the ground-floor of the redevelopment of the United Reform Church on West Street.
- Working with Share Bristol to secure a permanent home for them on East Street following their ‘meanwhile’ tenancy of the former Shoe Zone in St Catherine’s Shopping Centre.
- Participating in Windmill Hill City Farm’s process to explore how a ‘wellbeing hub’ could benefit the local area.
- Working with a partnership of independent media organisations to encourage a publicly-accessible ‘international house of journalism’ in Bedminster, based on an existing project in Berlin.
What’s next?
We’re recruiting for two Co-Leads, one focussed on property and the other on community stewardship. We’re hoping to have these people in place by the end of the Summer to ramp up our efforts to secure three community buildings in three years. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please pass on the recruitment pack.
We’ll also be recruiting for more Directors in the near future so if you like the sound of what we’re doing and would like to be involved then sign up to our newsletter for updates.
In September we’ll be sharing more about our projects and our work, including through a series of public events. Sign up for updates if you’d like to be the first to hear about an exciting programme of activities all about the future of community stewardship and ownership in Bedminster.