A charity that is restoring a mill into a vibrant hub for community, enterprise, heritage, and culture has received investment of £50,000 from the Enterprising Communities Fund.
Leigh Building Preservation Trust works to maintain the Grade II* listed Leigh Spinners Mill to create a vibrant hub and bring the community together in new and inspiring ways. Refurbishments so far mean the space is now accommodating 68 small enterprises offering sports, arts, cultural and digital experiences, heritage and micro retail, and they now attract over 2,000 visitors a day. The final floor of the mill is close to completion and will create space for an additional 13 tenants. The investment will support them to become self-sustaining as a trading charity after their nine-year journey to restore the Mill.
Unify Credit Union have provided the loan element of this investment. Their Acting CEO, Lisa Warburton, said:
“We are delighted to provide our first social enterprise loan to Leigh Building Preservation Trust under the Enterprising Communities Fund, working with GMCVO and other funders.
Our members all live and work locally, and traditionally we have used their savings to offer affordable loans to individuals in the community. We’re very proud that our members have now built up enough savings that we can also offer larger loans to social enterprises and further contribute to the economic and cultural regeneration of Wigan and Leigh.
Using the community wealth created by our members to enable local social enterprises to improve the lives of others is something that fits well with the not-for-profit, co-operative and ethical principles of Credit Unions. We hope that Unify and others across Greater Manchester can provide more of these loans where they are needed.”
Visit our website www.gmcvo.org.uk/gmsocinvest to find out more about social investment and other investment opportunities that we offer.
