Churches as Community Business Venues: Hubs Working Together

Community businesses and places of worship share an identical goal: to provide community support, service and cohesion to anyone needing it.

One of the reasons community owned business ideas like shops, cafes and hubs fail to reach trading stage is a lack of available premises. At the same time, many UK churches have reduced congregations and are actively seeking ways to increase footfall, strengthen their already important outreach role at the heart of their community, and create an income stream which contributes to the upkeep of these much loved, often historic buildings.

Recognising the potential of community businesses ‘co-locating’ with active places of worship, Plunkett is part of a coalition of organisations campaigning to promote the benefits of community businesses of the model. Generous funding from Benefact Trust enables us to provide:

• Free bespoke advice to community business groups and churches exploring the potential of a church or grounds as a potential venue for a business.

• Grants of up to £5,000 to support early feasibility and development work

There are wonderful examples across the UK of the model already helping community businesses and churches alike to flourish, with shops, cafes, farmers markets, performance spaces and renewable energy schemes already operating from within church buildings across the UK.

Join us to hear about the impact on both community and church from two community groups: Yarpole Community Shop and Cafe which has been trading successfully from St Leonard’s Church in Yarpole, Herefordshire, and from Amberley Shop on The Common which opened in June in the nave of Holy Trinity Church in the village of Amberley in Gloucestershire.

We’ll also be joined by Wendy Coombey of the Diocese of Hereford who will give her perspective on why co-location is really worth exploring and the benefits she is seeing it bring.

This free online event will inspire you to think how a partnership between a community owned business and a place of worship could be what your vision needs, and enable you to hear the experiences of your peers and ask questions.