Hartcliffe & Withywood Ventures
Hartcliffe & Withywood Ventures have recently played a key role in Symes Avenue re-development in Hartcliffe. Amongst other things, they worked with new employers in the area, Morrisons, to ensure that jobs were made available to as many local people as possible.
We caught up with Brian McInally to find out more about Hartcliffe & Withywood Ventures.
Why and when did you start up?
Hartcliffe and Withywood Ventures (HWV) was founded in 1985 by people from the local community, to tackle the growing unemployment among the residents in Hartcliffe and Withywood.
It’s 20 years since Hartcliffe & Withywood Ventures (HWV) opened for business in the Hartcliffe Community House in an office the size of a broom cupboard.
Twenty years on HWV is based in The Gatehouse Centre, an asset that it owns and manages. The organisation employs over one hundred people and has an annual turnover in excess of £2 million. HWV has grown substantially but is still there ‘to increase the choices and opportunities available to local people so that they have a better standard of living and a higher quality of life’.
What do you do and what services do you offer?
The Gatehouse Centre has provided a base for a number of other organisations in the voluntary and statutory sector and small private businesses. Facilities on offer include a purpose built nursery, training centre, conference & meeting rooms, retail and industrial units and a community café.
HWV continues to offer support to local people to find employment and training opportunities with full day-care available on site. Young people can access a number of programmes designed to maximise their skills and abilities. Parents of disabled children are supported to access an inclusive education for their child and local groups are supported with advice and information. We also offer some services at The Park in Knowle West and at the Lamp in Hartcliffe.
As part of our Economic Development activity we coordinate the southern “cluster “of the city-wide Integrated Employment and Enterprise Initiative.
How was HWV involved in the recent Symes Ave redevelopment ?
Our involvement goes back many years as a member of the local steering group.
Most recently we worked closely with Morrisons for 9 months before opening to ensure that the new jobs were available to as many local people as possible. This involved housing Morrisons key staff for 6 months prior to the store opening, organising open days – with almost 900 people attending. Almost 100 of these people benefited from a pre-employment course which 66 completed, with the incentive of a guaranteed interview. All of this was made possible by the Employment Access Fund.
What effect do you think the Symes Ave redevelopment will have on the local area and people?
The Symes Ave redevelopment has already lifted the area by increasing the facilities available - as well as the new library, community building, post office and retail units there are more local jobs and simply more choice available to residents.
What else would you like to see happening in Hartcliffe and Withywood?
We hope to see achievement and aspiration of our young people continue to rise and to continue to work with the adults to increase skills levels and earning power.
The area will benefit from the completion of Imperial Park and the new developments on Hengrove Park. We really are optimistic about these and look forward to working with partners particularly on the South Bristol Hospital and leisure developments, which will widen the range of jobs available as well as providing local facilities. We believe that the model we have developed for partnership working will stand us in good stead.
Finally to return to education, skills and training where the landscape will be entirely changed by the arrival of the Merchant’s Academy and the Hartcliffe Community Campus development
What challenges are you facing as an organisation?
As with many in the sector we constantly have to manage the implications of short term funding for different projects at different times. The end of URBAN II will have a significant impact across South Bristol. There remains uncertainty around the future of Neighbourhood Renewal (NR) funding and what might replace it.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for locally based training and skills providers to access mainstream funding - a required outcome of NR, as increasingly tenders are let to “prime providers” who can operate over wide areas.
Do you belong to any partnerships, and what do those partnerships do?
HWV is an active participant in local and city-wide partnerships and supports potential and existing community initiatives and enterprises. These include Hartcliffe and Withywood Community Partnership; Regeneration Delivery Group; South Bristol Church & Community Group; and South Bristol Employment & Enterprise Group.
What benefits do you get from being a member of Voscur?
The newsletters and ebulletins are a useful source of information.
How can people get in contact you?
Hartcliffe & Withywood Ventures, The Gatehouse Centre, Hareclive Rd, Bristol, BS13 9JN. Tel: 0117 9781708
www.hartwood.org.uk