27/01/2025
**Important Announcement: Shop closure
Hello everyone,
We’re deeply saddened to announce that, due to circumstances beyond our control, the shop will be closing.
When we took on the shop on Grange Road, we did so with a vision—to create more space to help more people, offer more opportunities for individuals to earn, and bring to life ideas like a free laundrette and a communal kitchen for the homeless to use throughout the day. For the first three months, things were going well. We poured our resources into the shop, and everything was heading in the right direction.
Unfortunately, we were then hit with major roadworks and a revamp of the area that had a devastating impact on our business. The roadworks were poorly organized, and overnight, our takings dropped to just 20% of what they were before. Many other businesses around us also had to close their doors. We were in a position where we could personally fund the shop for a while, but this was never meant to be a long-term solution.
We reached out to the council and were assured they would provide financial support to help us through this challenging time, so we could continue our mission. Sadly, we were misled. Despite the promises from the council, the police, and other organizations, we’ve received absolutely no financial help. Now, the CIC (Community Interest Company) is facing a debt of £10,000, which will only continue to grow as we try to keep the shop open.
While we’re not sure what the next steps will be, we remain committed to supporting homeless individuals, volunteers, struggling families, and disabled people in some way—we just don’t know how yet. We want to keep helping, but the financial strain has made that incredibly difficult.
The shop will remain open for the next couple of weeks, and we ask you to come by to shop and help us clear the space. However, we will not be accepting any donations for the shop during this time. We will always welcome donations that can directly help people on the streets, such as sleeping bags, tents, hats, gloves, and other essentials.
We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us on this journey. We are truly sorry and feel devastated by this closure. The council’s broken promises have crushed any hopes we had of making this a long-term success, and we believe they should be ashamed of how they’ve treated us and the other businesses in the area.