A HALLOW-BASED provider of land-based activities, training, education and work experience has completed its £500,000 relocation to a new site, thanks to a cash injection of £85,000.
Wildgoose Rural Training, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2019, will now be able to support 150 people every year, supporting individuals with learning disabilities, brain injuries, mental health issues and young people who find school a challenge.
The social enterprise secured £85,000 from the Resonance West Midlands Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) fund to make the move possible.
It will now have access to 42 acres of land for use as a dedicated care farm, with open spaces, settlement ponds and a new modular hub for its large training kitchen and activity centre.
This is the latest in a series of investments from the Resonance West Midlands SITR Fund, which was launched in 2018 with £1.25 million initial investment. It aims to create a £5 million resource to support the growth of social enterprises.
“We are delighted to be in our new home and have lots of exciting plans to help more students, whilst building new relationships with the general public and businesses who want to get involved in the work that we do,” said Jim Hidderley, managing director of Wildgoose Rural Training.
“This was only achieved thanks to the support of a range of organisations and investors that recognised the potential of the project. It now means we have a great opportunity to have an even bigger positive impact on our local community.”
He continued: “The final piece of the jigsaw was the £85,000 from the Resonance West Midlands SITR Fund, which gave us the opportunity to complete the project and build a modular hub on site.
“The latter will be a fantastic new facility where we can continue to run our training kitchen, whilst also hosting a visitor and education centre so we can engage with more local schools and the general public.
“It will also give us a place where we can showcase some of the great horticulture projects, craft skills and care farm work we take part in.”
Grace England, investment manager at Resonance, said: “Wildgoose Rural Training is a great social enterprise that offers an amazing service – it has the potential to do so much more for people that need specialist support, but the previous site had reached maximum capacity.
“The move is a brilliant opportunity to grow the business and its social impact.”
