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Thursday 10 August 2017

Community enterprise in Frome @ Radio 4 >>> >>> >>> keeping rents low and chain stores at bay

Exploring the power of community enterprise, BBC Radio 4's 'In Business' goes to Frome - where developers and the town council are very supportive of new businesses:


Community Enterprise



What role can the community play in rejuvenating their local economy? 

Globalisation often results in a big geographical divide between where profits are made and where they are spent. 

Anu Anand visits twocommunities trying to reverse that trend and keep investment, jobs and profits close to hand. 

In Frome, in Somerset, she meets local property developers who are keeping rents low and chain stores at bay in a bid to allow local independent retailers to thrive


BBC Radio 4 - In Business, Community Enterprise

There are loads of community enterprises at work in Frome:

Somerset Community enterprise project

Somerset micro-provider gains top national award

Alex Roland, Bridgewater based micro-provider supported by Community Catalysts’ project in Somerset, has just gained the top “Making a Difference Award” at The National Learning Disabilities and Autism Awards held in Birmingham on Friday 14th July 2017. The award is …
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Forget the silos

Frome in Somerset – a compassionate town In Frome things get done…. Frome is the home of the ‘Flat Pack Democracy’ a radically different way of running local councils, where the decision making process is accelerated by the fact that every …
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Somerset Community enterprise project |



Somerset Share Shop offers a new kind of enterprise

Project that loans household items for nominal sums is attempting to reduce waste, save customers money and train young people

The UK's first Share Shop, in Frome, Somerset.
 The Frome Share Shop, the first of its kind in the UK, opens its doors. Photograph: Jim Wileman

An awe-inspiring array of tools, from trowels to an angle grinder, are laid out rather beautifully on the rough reclaimed wood shelves running along one side of the Share Shop in Frome, Somerset. Nestled among them is a photograph of the man who donated them, on a card explaining that they belonged to his late brother, a builder, who died of a heart attack. “When we walked past and saw the shop, we knew it was the perfect place for his tools to go,” it reads.
The shop, which opened at the end of last month, is billed as the only one of its kind in the UK at the moment (although there’s also been a “Library of Things” piloted in West Norwood, south London). By allowing residents to borrow, for a minimal fee, good quality household and leisure items donated by the public, it aims to save people money and reduce waste – the average electric drill is used for just 15 minutes in its lifetime, the organisers point out. At the same time, the scheme has offered the young people who built it from scratch a free, intensive training in community entrepreneurship.

Somerset Share Shop offers a new kind of enterprise | Rachel Williams | Society | The Guardian

Frome’s Community Fridge saves over 20,000 food items in a year!

Since its launch in April last year, the community fridge in Frome has saved more than 20,000 food items from landfill, appeared on Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday night food feast, and inspired many other community fridges to open in the UK. The fridge was set up by ‘Edventure school for community enterprise’ and Frome Town Council to help reduce food waste going to landfill. The fridge regularly receives food donations from local businesses and retailers in Frome such as Greggs and M&S.
“We are hoping to receive donations from other retailers such as the CoOp, in the next few months.” Says Lauren Goodey who manages the fridge. “We are so grateful to all of our volunteers who have helped to collect the food and clean the fridge. We will be looking for more volunteers to help with collections in the future. If you can help, get in touch with us at fridge@edventurefrome.org. We will also be celebrating the fridge’s first birthday sometime in May, and launching a delicious soup, so keep an eye out on our Facebook page for more information.” www.facebook.com/communityfridgefrome 
If you haven’t visited the fridge yet, you can find it in the Cheese and Grain car park at Loop de Loop Gallery. The community fridge is open to all from 8am to 8pm so please donate any of your surplus edible food here to share with the community.
Frome’s Community Fridge saves over 20,000 food items in a year! - Frome Town Council

And more:
Cheese and Grain | A not for profit social enterprise
Somerset Community Micro-enterprise Project Supporting local people to provide local support | Frome Times
Mells Cafe - Somerset Community Enterprise - YouTube

See also:
Futures Forum: Town Digital Hub
Futures Forum: FLATPACK DEMOCRACY >>> sharing a vision of how we can change the status quo >>> Exeter Tues 25th October
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