Community and social enterprises have increased significantly across the county and strong progress has been made by both the new and established projects. During 2014/15 our Social Enterprise Service worked with more than forty ventures.
It was an exciting year for the community ownership movement with Littlehempston villagers securing the Tally Ho Inn and the people of Holn buying the local shop and tea room. East Budleigh community shop celebrated the move from a portakabin to purpose built premises. A new undertaking, with a youth and sports theme, now services the Newton Abbot area. Lodge Park provides indoor BMX, a skate park and a youth club.
The Social Enterprise Service provides advice and support to groups including a range of training opportunities, workshops and events on themes such as sustainable funding, financing your community enterprise, sustainability health checks and business planning for town and parish councillors.
The Social Enterprise Service works with the Community Transport Network, which comprises more than thirty schemes across the County. We have helped them explore and develop social enterprise techniques to achieve sustainable services.
Looking ahead, as local authority services continue to contract, our Social Enterprise Service will have an increasingly important role in enabling groups to explore community enterprise as an innovative way of maintaining local services.
To support our work please visit the Love Devon appeal page