Our friends and supporters will know that for some time Woodshed Workshop has trying to find a permanent home. This has been a long journey for us, with a lot of ups and downs since leaving Lobley Hill in October 2018, however after a lot of hard work alongside Durham County Council we are delighted to announce that we will soon be taking up residence within the co-operative workshop buildings in Sacriston.
The buildings are derelict and have been abandoned for many years, but dormant beneath all the wear and tear there is a stunning series of workshops and retail spaces waiting for an opportunity to return to their original purpose: as a home in which local start-up enterprises like ours can flourish and support the local economy.
It is our intention to rescue and redevelop this amazing site into a social enterprise hub, housing a group of social enterprises and charities. The project will be known as ‘Sacriston Enterprise Workshops’ and the start-ups that grow there will have an enormous collective impact on the community of Sacriston, the surrounding villages and County Durham as a whole.
The project will completely renovate and bring the buildings back to life, ensuing that the historic character of this key element of Sacriston’s local identity can serve the community for years to come. We will be developing in a number of ways: through generating trade income, providing services and bringing external funding into Sacriston.
At the outset of this ambitious project we need a lot of help: funding, resources, building materials, and volunteers to help us turn this idea into a reality. We hope to find support for this project in the local community, which will be an excellent example of how local people can improve their surroundings and bring about positive social and economic change.
If you would like to help or to find out more about our plans then everyone is welcome! Please check out our website and blog at http://www.woodshedsorkshop.com for details. No matter how small each individual contribution, together we can achieve something amazing so come and get involved and influence our vision for Sacriston Enterprise Workshops.
woodshedworkshop.com 