New Programme & Partnership Coming Soon...

Transforming town centre buildings for local benefit in five neighbourhoods – thanks to a £2.5 million award from The National Lottery Community Fund.

Thanks to National Lottery players, Platform Places and partners will receive almost £2.5 million over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK.

The funding will be used to enable communities to come together and secure long-term spaces for the activities and services that they need the most.

This fund and programme (set to begin in October 2024) will resource local leaders who are already engaged in this work in neighbourhoods in Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool City Region, Bristol and London – working towards shifting a total of 15 buildings into long-term local ownership over three years.

Co-delivery partners

So far, the early-stage local partnerships we’re working with in each place include the following organisations: 

• Big River Bakery, Newcastle City Council and partners in Byker, Newcastle

• Brightbox, Sheffield City Council and partners in Darnall Ward, Sheffield

• East Street Property Partnership in Bedminster, Bristol 

• Kindred LCR and partners in Knowsley and St Helens, Liverpool City Region

• Wandsworth Town Property Partnership in Wandsworth Town, London

As well as these local leaders and and their partners, we’re co-delivering this work in partnership with national organisations Architectural Heritage Fund, Power to Change and Social Investment Business. 

Our intention is that this work will lay the groundwork for a larger follow-on funding programme, which catalyses England-wide adoption of this approach – to localise and democratise who owns, controls and transforms town centre buildings. 

Watch this space for the official launch and more details of how you might get involved…