A new business hub that will provide space for ‘socially-trading organisations’ opens in Liverpool city region. Tony McDonough reports

A new town centre hub for ‘socially-trading organisations’ (STOs) has opened in the centre of St Helens.

Street and a Half (SnA) is the culmination of a two-year project that has transformed the 9,250 sq ft former Catapult Building in Haydock Street and Bickerstaffe Street into a hub for the social business sector.

STOs are businesses which set out to deliver social benefits and trade commercially. They can include community businesses, community interest companies, social enterprises and cooperatives. It can include charities as long as they trade and aren’t grant-reliant.

This project was a collaboration between Kindred LCR, an organisation set up to support the social business sector in Liverpool city region, and St Helens Council.

It is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as the lead authority.

Designed to support and nurture social businesses and start-ups, this space will accommodate an array of enterprises which aim to both trade commercially and offer social value. 

They include active travel cycling businesses, re-cycling fashion projects, health and wellbeing projects, schemes supporting young people. They also include cake-makers, artists, designers and makers looking for studio space.

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Deputy chair of Kindred, Helen Heap, said: “Kindred is excited to be collaborating with STOs to bring new activity to this part of the town, reviving the buildings by bringing them into community use. 

“We know that 68% of the STOs we have invested in have an unmet property requirement that may restrict their growth, and this innovative plan from St Helens Council shows what it’s possible to achieve in partnership.”

A handover event saw over 40 people in attendance – all keen to take a first look around the building. They were looked after by the team from local STO, Café Laziz, which works to support the borough’s refugees and asylum seekers.

It uses food and education projects to bring people together and provided hospitality for the event with a range of homemade cakes and refreshments.

St Helens Council leader, Anthony Burns, added: “Kindred LCR have a brilliant vision to revitalise this part of our town centre and provide great start-up and social enterprise groups the chance to develop and grow.

“While much focus is on the town centre transformation, projects like this are just as vital to our plans for inclusive growth, giving businesses at all levels the chance to shine.”