Stonehouse Action are a group of local residents who love Union Street and are transforming a derelict shop ‘Union Corner’ on Union St.
by stonehouseaction in Union Street
Wow we've made it, thank you so much for being part of making it happen! There is so much more we can do! Now we can put those extra special touches in the shop, garden, the activities and make sure we're ready to celebrate Union Street Party! Hope to see you there - it's the last Sunday of September the 27th at 12pm! With lots of love Stonehouse Action xx
Stonehouse Action are a group of local residents that love Union Street and are transforming a derelict shop ‘Union Corner’ on Union Street into an exciting community space where people can get together to celebrate local talent through events, activities, a garden, and testing business ideas for Union Street.
This site has been a derelict eyesore for over twenty years, it is about time something special happens to it! We have had a big community street party for the last five years and every time local people ask us to do more to make a real physical difference to the street and keep up the street party vibe throughout the year, now we need your help to make that happen!
Your pledge will pay for a new shop front and garden fence…but not just any old shop front…designed by Robert Bedner, a local designer from Research+Design, the shop and garden will have different openings made with local people that open into windows, performance spaces, seats and tables creating a really unique and special space for the community to come together. We have shared these plans with local people and have loads of great feedback - now we want to get on with it!
About the project
Working with the landowner, our plan is to open and occupy the shop for 3 years breathe life into this space and leave it with a local business up and running in it. Then we’ll move onto to another empty shop leaving a tenant behind and improving Union Street and creating great opportunities for local people in the process.
We will use your pledges to pay for materials, construction, permissions and making sure it is safe, secure and accesible for everyone.
We are ready to go and will aim to get it open before the street party this year to celebrate Union Street which turning 200 years old this year. We are also creating a community garden at the side of the shop which will have a place to cook, tell stories, grow plants and be a space to perform in!
We have nearly sorted out the inside of the shop and have already hosted a few events like Light Fantastic, Café Concrete, a lantern parade and 100 Homes exhibitions.
We are working in partnership to make this project happen including, Stonehouse Timebank, Glad Rags, Research+Design, Oasis Café, Stonehouse Play Association, Dom Moore Photography, 51 Studio, Fotonow, Plymouth Community Homes, Spectrum Housing, the South West Probation Service, Sovereign and many other people that have been so supportive and got us this far.
To celebrate and recognise all the people who have helped to create Union Corner their names will be included in the space, if you pledge you’ll be part of it!
Union Street cuts through two very different parts of Stonehouse. There is lots of regeneration happening along Millbay and new people are moving to the area, we want to make sure that communities have opportunities to get to know each other, swap their skills, and celebrate the abundance of talent and community spirit in this neighbourhood.
Union Street has so much potential and we are keen that the community are driving that change and creating a place where others will also want to live, work and play.
Stonehouse Action is a group of local volunteers who live or work in Stonehouse. We have been going for over 10 years, we have hosted the Union Street Party for the last 4 years where Union Street is closed and over 2000 people turn up to celebrate the area (this year it is on Sunday 27 September 2015 - get your party frocks ready!).
We produced the Union Street Community Gallery where we covered empty buildings with pictures and photos, and we work in partnership with Stonehouse Timebank who support people to volunteer and swap skills locally and Glad Rags who add that special textile touch to lots of events!
We have over 6000 visits to our website a year, over 1000 Twitter followers and an active facebook page, if you pledge we'll make sure people know about your support! Help us make this happen!
So lets pull together to make something amazing happen on Union Street that creates a fun space for people to meet and try new things, opens up a building that has been boarded up for far too long and create a unique space that celebrates local talent and ideas - make a pledge and be part of making a difference in Stonehouse xxx
This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.