The Save The Step share offer was launched on Monday.
Since June 2022, a team of local people has spent months working with grant funders and advisors towards helping the community to buy and renovate The Step at 101 Myddleton Road in nearby Bowes Park.
They have received a £250,000 grant from the UK government towards buying the building, with additional funding from other organisations that support community projects to cover costs like architects and lawyers.
Over 600 local people have told them that they back the project and described what they would like to see in the space by filling out a survey. This showed people are looking for a family friendly space with a food offering, complemented by music and art, and a range of services. These include providing somewhere for hot-desking, as well as hosting classes, book clubs and support groups. 350 local people have pledged to become shareholders.
They have just launched a community share offer to raise the £250,000 required from local shareholders.
The property developer is willing to sell to them if they raise the funds by 19 March. If they are not successful, the developer aims to permanently change the use of the building to a private use, so the community won’t get this chance again.
They have received a £250,000 grant from the UK government towards buying the building, with additional funding from other organisations that support community projects to cover costs like architects and lawyers.
Over 600 local people have told them that they back the project and described what they would like to see in the space by filling out a survey. This showed people are looking for a family friendly space with a food offering, complemented by music and art, and a range of services. These include providing somewhere for hot-desking, as well as hosting classes, book clubs and support groups. 350 local people have pledged to become shareholders.
They have just launched a community share offer to raise the £250,000 required from local shareholders.
The property developer is willing to sell to them if they raise the funds by 19 March. If they are not successful, the developer aims to permanently change the use of the building to a private use, so the community won’t get this chance again.
For more info see: www.savethestep.com
Replies
Great news from the Save the Step team:
Tenant applications are now open for 101 Myddleton Road! There is an information pack available on our website, and a form to register an Expression of Interest. Both can be found here.
Thank you to everyone who suggested potential tenants in our recent survey - we will be contacting them to invite them to apply. Please do share the link with your networks and any businesses you think might be interested.
Best wishes,
Save The Step Team
Great news - Save The Step have now reached £150,000 of investment towards the £250,000 target, with the deadline of 19 March still 10 days away.
Fantastic to hear that the Save the Step campaign reached their £250k target, which the Government will now match fund! The very popular Step bar/cafe will now be re-created for the community. Congratulations all!
Great, Daniel. I thought the deadline was this Sunday, so very good to hear there's more time yet!
What a great initiative, Daniel. I used to enjoy going to the Step and I am so pleased there is community support to buy and renovate it for local benefit. I have just become a shareholder and I hope many others follow suit.
No worries. I will try to provide a progress update in time for the next newsletter.
So sorry, Daniel, this got left out of the newsletter ...
Thanks for this, Daniel. Fingers crossed for the success of this wonderful project! For those unfamiliar with it, the Step was the very popular cafe/bar that I mentioned in my post earlier this year. Sorry, the picture displayed below isn't of the Step, of course ...
https://alexandraparkneighbours.org.uk/forum/the-step-cafe-bar-set-...