A pay-what-you-can event for local community groups, small businesses, or anyone interested.

Imagine your community group owned its own building. How much more secure might your visibility in the community, your finances, and your future be?

More and more, public spaces across the UK, often council owned, have been sold off to developers or private ownership. Community centres, event spaces, and retail units have been sold off, and even formerly secure businesses like pubs and publishing houses have struggled financially and lost their premises.

Real estate is an asset that can often transform the fortunes of a community or social enterprise that creates social value – teams can use it as collateral to borrow money against, for example.

How can community groups and small businesses forge a path to owning or leasing their own spaces?

The Bristol Cable and Trinity are hosting a roundtable with audience Q&A, where we’ll hear from some of the city’s local organisations who have done, or are doing this, as well as representatives from the council and funders. We’ll hear from:

- Emma Harvey, CEO of The Trinity Centre, which recently ran a capital campaign to buy the Jacobs Wells Road building as a community centre
- Sado Jirde, Director of Black South West Network, which secured the Coach House for development as a Center for Culture and Enterprise for Black-owned organisations in a Community Asset Transfer from the council
- Sameer Padania, a media funding consultant who is working with The Bristol Cable on a feasibility study for opening a ‘House of Journalism and Public Debate’ in Bristol
- A representative from Bristol City Council

Entry requirements: no age restrictions — Read more — Read less