Flourish is to open new community and social enterprise hub with co-working space above Heaton Chapel station.
The space above Heaton Chapel Station is set to become a vibrant hub for social and community enterprises in the Heatons. Managed by Flourish Together CIC, the Hub will house a handful of social enterprises, a co-working room, and two hireable meeting spaces. After securing grant support from the National Lottery and Postcode Neighbourhood Trust, Flourish has been working hard behind the scenes to transform the space, listen to the needs of the community, and build partnerships with community support organisations.
The Hub is part of ‘Action Stations,’ a regeneration project led by the Station Alliance in partnership with Flourish Together CIC. As a consultancy supporting people with great ideas to set up or scale up their social ventures, Flourish is excited to use the Hub to support more people in creating positive change in their communities. The plan is to set up a small team of volunteers to support the operations, creating small grants from any surplus resources each year to invest in community projects.
Founder & Director of Flourish Together, Nickala Torkington, who is from Stockport and was recently recognised as ‘Levelling up Leader’ in the 2023 Northern Power Women awards, said “We’re thrilled to be able to bring our knowledge, skills and networks to the area and regenerate this fabulous character building and offer much needed, affordable working spaces and a new small venue for community groups & events.”
With its on-site transport links and active travel facilities, the Hub is well placed to serve local social and community businesses, those seeking a coworking space near to home, and the wider community.
The Friends of Heaton Chapel Station who have been using the space since 2016 and been instrumental in securing the building for community use, expressed their support for the project: “We now very much welcome the renovation of the 1st floor and for local organisations and community groups to use the space and to work with Flourish Together, which we hope will secure the long-term use of our station building.”
Stockport-based social enterprise PIE will be amongst the new residents at the Hub. PIE Director Beth Nunn commented, “We are so excited to be moving into the new Hub – not only to be a part of an exciting new social enterprise community but also to finally have a home here where we are based in Stockport! We have been using coworking spaces in central Manchester for years but are now ready to move into our own private office space which will provide not only a great working space for our team, but new opportunities to collaborate with others. We are proud to be a Stockport based SocEnt and can’t wait to be able to use the hub for our day to day work, as well as for running some of our community sessions!”
Flourish is also on the lookout for motivated and enthusiastic individuals to become part of the Hub Community Team and contribute to its growth as a thriving hub of activity and positive change – contact us for more details.
The Hub will gradually open for trial use of the space ahead of launching a diverse program of activities and events, including a monthly Pop-Up Spa offering beauty, wellbeing, and holistic therapies at affordable prices. If you’re interested in getting involved, using the space, or hearing about events and opportunities at the Flourish Hub, do get in touch or sign up for the Flourish newsletter.
Keep an eye out for news of an official launch in late Summer!