Before the world changed on 23rd March 2020, The Glossop Creative Trust, through the Glossop Creates movement, had started to build momentum around developing a name for the town as a hotbed of culture & creativity. With much focus on the Food Beverage and Hospitality industries, and with plans to start regular food and drink events through June, July and August, it was set to be an exciting summer.
But then in mid March, the national lockdown caused the country to hit pause, all our plans had to be put on hold and the burgeoning hospitality businesses in the town with whom we were building relationships were thrown into chaos.
But non of that is new. So what of the future?
Working behind the scenes
Whilst we have had to delay our front line activities, we have not been idle. Working behind the scenes, we have cemented our already positive relationship with the High Peak Borough Council (HPBC), who we recognised would be key to bringing our vision to reality.
As a result we have now signed a 5 year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), meaning that we are now recognised by the Local Authority as “the community strategic lead organisation for the development of Glossop as a creative hub” and furthermore now have an agreement to share resources and information as we develop a common strategy for developing the creative industries with the area.
In addition to the MOU, we are also working on converting the Glossop Creative Trust into a Community Interest Company (CIC) to better reflect our objectives in the town, but more of that in a future post, so watch this space!
Resources to Build the Partnership
Along side the MOU, the partnership brings resources, with HPBC also awarding the Trust a grant of £15,000 to start to put plans into action. Resources which will in part, be used to secure the professional services of Claire Tymon. A resident of Hadfield, Claire has a great track record of delivering the type of project we are building in Glossop and brings with her some first class contacts like world renowned designer Wayne Hemingway, with whom Claire has worked on previous projects.
Claire has some great ideas and works on the project with a passion that only a local could exhibit. Having engaged consultants on this type of project in the past, working with Claire is a pleasure. She is in a class of her own. Furthermore, I fully expect that we will be able to use Claire’s ideas & skills to deliver further investment into the town helping us to bring our vision to a reality.
Big plans for the future
These are exciting times for towns like Glossop, which recently received a rave review as a foodie hub in the Manchester Evening News, though I am not sure about the “Sleepy Town” epithet! And which this month has received an in principal agreement by the D2N2 LEP to invest over £2m to the redevelopment of the Town Hall complex in line with our vision. Our hope is that our work with HPBC over the next few weeks to finalise the business case, will secure this funding for the town.
There has also been a shift in working practices, driven by the fact that we have all had to change the way we work over the last few months. A shift which means that people are working more flexibly, with a desire to work closer to home rather than endure the daily commute into Manchester.
Together these come together to offer significant opportunities for the town.
As Thom Hetherington, Glossop’s resident foodie succinctly put it
“I think this is a rare situation where the wind of government priorities and societal changes are all blowing strongly in Glossop’s direction, and we have one chance to crystallise that, locking it in for a generation or more.”
These may be challenging times, but as the dust settles I think Glossop will come out stronger and has a bright future.
If you want to keep up to speed on our activities, or want to get involved, you can do so here.
