Retail Trust, NEXT and Dobbies Create community hub for retired retail workers
By Lawrence Coen, managing director of property and supported living at the Retail Trust
Trust issues: our new community hub is testament to NEXT’s and Dobbies Garden Centres’ support
Last year, the Retail Trust partnered with NEXT and Dobbies Garden Centres on an important redevelopment project at our Hugh Fraser Retirement Estate in Glasgow, one of five supported living estates we run for people retired from the retail industry.
Our goal was to better meet the social and physical needs of our residents and those living nearby, by creating a new community hub that would also offer more local support for people with long term health needs.
Thanks to our funders and partners, formerly disused spaces have been turned into modern facilities that can now host a range of activities and support. This includes exercise classes, quizzes, film nights and indoor bowls, as well as new services from organisations like Voluntary Action and Age Concern.
Never Miss a Retail Update!What truly sets this project apart is the hands-on support we received from our retail partners who helped us to transform the space, both indoors and out. NEXT’s team took on the interior design of the hub and generously donated the furniture and materials to bring it to life, while Dobbies Garden Centres’ staff volunteered their time and donated products to create a new garden area. This is in addition to the funding that NEXT, the B&Q Foundation and bp provided to make our plans a reality.
We have always believed the Retail Trust’s work to protect the hope, health and happiness of retail workers doesn’t end when they step off the shop floor, and I think this project embodies what the industry can really achieve when we work together behind this mission.
The feedback from the local community has been overwhelmingly positive, with both the council and other retailers coming forward following its launch to offer us more support, because they can already see the impact it is having on people’s lives.
We’re now exploring whether it could become a blueprint for how retailers and partners help us to tackle the social and health needs of other parts of the country where we also support former colleagues. Older people are the biggest users of the NHS and social care services and are being impacted the most by the pressures currently facing health, social care and housing services, so we certainly see the need for the same approach elsewhere.
If you would like to find out more about our community hub in Glasgow and how your organisation can play its part in projects like it, please visit retailtrust.org.uk or contact myself at LCoen@retailtrust.org.uk. By volunteering your time, offering practical help, or providing financial support, you can help us make a difference to the people who have dedicated their careers to our industry.
