Plunkett UK has been awarded a multi-year grant from the Linbury Trust to support its community business service.
The funding, secured over the next three years, will help the charity safeguard its service and respond to a growing demand for community businesses seeking support, either with launch or continued operations.
Plunkett says it hopes to achieve a growth in the total number of community businesses trading, and enhance their impact on local communities – having already supported more than 850 through their launch process.
It warns that there are more than 12,000 other settlements throughout the UK which experience often-hidden poverty, service deprivation, and other aspects of disadvantage on account of their rural location.
With support from the Linbury Trust – a UK-based grant-making foundation that is part of the Sainsbury Family Trust Network, Plunkett will continue its national advice line, which handles over 750 enquiries each year, and provide advice and training on community business.
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“We are thankful to the Linbury Trust for their support and delighted to have secured this substantial funding,“ said Plunkett CEO James Alcock. “First and foremost it will enable us to continue our high-quality, specialist business support for rural communities that are setting-up and running a wide range of businesses in community ownership.
“In partnership with the Linbury Trust, we can go even further in making a tangible difference for over-looked rural communities, accelerating growth in areas of financial and service deprivation. We will be supporting community businesses to focus on being equitable and inclusive, reflecting communities around them; how to consider their environmental impact; and scaling up a wider range of community-owned businesses beyond shops and pubs.”
Linbury director Stuart Hobley added: “From village shops to farmer’s markets, community-owned businesses are central to rural life, supporting both local economies and local people. This funding will help Plunkett UK help community businesses to grow and thrive.
“We are pleased to be able to support this valuable work and very much look forward to hearing more in the months ahead.”
Meanwhile, Plunkett is continuing its work with the Scottish government’s Scottish Rural Network Unit to support the community pub sector.
Through the programme, Plunkett is delivering the Scottish Community Pubs Network, which provides peer-learning and networking opportunities.
The number of open and trading community-owned pubs in Scotland has doubled from six to 12 in the last three years.
“We are thrilled to have provided valuable support for a growing number of community pub groups,” said community business manager Diane Cameron. “Costs are unavoidable and can be hard to meet at early stages of their project. Early-stage grants remove this barrier which is most acutely felt by low-income communities.
“We have seen time and again how Scottish community-owned pubs offer a range of fantastic benefits to residents. These include being winter ‘warm spaces’ with free soup, tea and coffee for anyone dropping in, and low fee Kids’ Clubs after school that include food.
“Some pubs offer low-priced meals using local food suppliers, which benefits the local economy, they host meeting and workspaces, music concerts and film screenings, they provide jobs and work experience for younger people, and bring social cohesion and mental health benefits for everyone.”
