About the Place Ltd has been working with HMP Springhill open prison near Aylesbury for almost two years to bring to fruition a complex and fascinating project, supported by the Local Food BIG Lottery programme.

We were approached to advise on, and to create, a project that could make best use of 53 acres of unused land at the prison.  Eight years previous, this fantastic resource had been a thriving farms and gardens initiative.  Unfortunately, funding pressures had seen it fall into disrepair and redundancy.

Taking time to consider all options and to place specific emphasis on sustainability, i.e. how to create something for the long-term, we delivered the following for our client:

• A major funding grant of £275,000 over two-and-a-half years from the BIG Lottery Local Food Programme 
• Options for match-funding
• A business plan

We are now retained by Springhill Farms and Gardens Ltd to

• Manage their relationship with the BIG Lottery (dealing with all reporting requirements and creating/supporting requests for funding reallocations as the project evolves)
• Provide on-going strategic advice to the Board (suggesting other grant funding that might become available and that could support new elements of the project, advising on how the project might evolve and suggesting potential new partnership opportunities).

The core elements of the project comprise a Victorian Walled Garden, an orchard, commercial polytunnels, rare breed sheep, chickens, quail and bees.  The primary objectives of the project are (1) to create a training and rehabilitation centre for prisoners and the public based on horticulture, animal husbandry and local food and (2) to develop a thriving commercial business growing local food and supporting local communities to access fresh produce.

We are proud to be involved in this project and feel that it has significant potential to become one of the most ambitious and thought-provoking projects of its kind in the prison service.  Look at the website for further information.

About the Place Ltd worked separately with two Market Towns in Oxfordshire to co-ordinate and to create complicated funding proposals to support various local projects.

Both towns had undertaken many years of consultation to agree those projects that would support local business and benefit the local community into the future.  Projects ranged from a new skate park and a new youth venue to environmental projects and historic repairs.

About the Place Ltd provided expertise to assess project ideas, structure a funding package for each, and to design a co-ordinated proposal that reflects national, regional and local strategies.

The final proposals were researched and presented to committee and reflected the substantial aspirations of two whole communities.  The Oxfordshire panel awarded a total of £159,000 across the two proposals, supporting seven local projects in total.  These included the Folly Tower, a Faringdon Skate Park and the Faringdon Community Bus, a Wantage shop grant scheme, improvements to the Market Place, environmental works to Letcombe Brook and walking and cycling cards.

About the Place Ltd is contracted by the Oxfordshire Town Chambers Network (OTCN) Ltd to project -manage an innovative Heritage Lottery Fund initiative in Oxford.

The project seeks to highlight the heritage of the fascinating Oxford Covered Market through the people and the personalities that have been, and still are, associated with it.  The project will last 18 months and will involve telling the stories of the people involved in the market through written and visual portraits.

The project also has a number of other innovative elements.  These include a photographic project involving twenty-two Year 6 pupils at West Oxford Primary School, a new on-line identity for the Covered Market, a celebration event to get different people talking to each other and a legacy exhibition at the Museum of Oxford.

Oliver O'Dell said, "This project is a perfect example of how you can take a simple idea and turn it into a really strong, and inclusive, initiative that attracts both funding and volunteer participation.  There are many people locally that have a strong affinity with the Market and we are using this capture thoughts and memories and to build interest amongst a new audience at a local school.  If organisations want to understand how a project can tick the right boxes, offer value for money and maintain media attention, then they should take a closer look at what we are doing".

It is believed that the project will become the catalyst to a new era of economic success at the Market, working closely with the independent traders who make this such a unique and interesting shopping experience.

About the Place Ltd supported OTCN in constructing the project from an initial idea and then submitting the funding application to the Heritage Lottery Fund's "Your Heritage" programme.  We secured a maximum grant of £50,000, almost £14, 000 cash match funding and over £40,000 of in-kind support.

Chair of South East of England Committee for the HLF, Paul Hudson, visited recently and said "I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and pride of the traders and their customers in wanting to record the long and fascinating story of what is one of Oxford's really special assets.  There are very few covered markets left and it adds greatly to the retail vibrancy and choice that Oxford offers.  The project demonstrates that heritage is just as relevant to the here and now and supporting the business and tourism aspects of the local economy.  I look forward to seeing the exhibition at the end of the project".

For more detailed information on the project look at the new Covered Market website.

About the Place Ltd secured grant funding for an Oxfordshire Organic Dairy Farm to develop a new environmentally responsible milking parlour.

We supported farmer Miles Saunders in applying for financial assistance from the LEADER Rural Programme managed by SEEDA.

Miles asked for assistance to submit a detailed application to the Programme that supported his existing project plan and timescales.

Working within tight deadlines, we negotiated a two-stage application process and external assessment and secured grant funding within five weeks.  This was a particularly good result on the basis that this is EU money and entails substantial amounts of form filling and background information.  It is also rare that pure commercial applications are fully supported.

Miles said;

“We knew that we were eligible for the LEADER Programme.  About the Place Ltd gave us the support that we needed to negotiate the application process and to submit the required information within a short space of time.  We were successful in securing a grant within a timescale that suited our project and in a way that allowed us to concentrate on running our business.”