Totnes Community Development Society (TCDS), has been shortlisted for a Social Investment Award run by the Cabinet Office in partnership with Nat West. TCDS are jointly shortlisted with UK social investor CAF Venturesome that has invested finance in the pre-development process taking place at the community-led development facilitated by TCDS, Atmos Totnes.
Together TCDS and CAF Venturesome are shortlisted for the Institutional social investment award, which will award and show-case the Institutional investment deal or product that has created demonstrable social impact at scale.
Marcelino Castrillo, Managing Director of Business Banking at NatWest, joined Minister for Civil Society Rob Wilson in congratulating all shortlisted organisations. Mr Castrillo said
“We’ve had some fantastic nominations this year which show that the social investment market has become increasingly innovative and diverse. It’s great to see the market gathering momentum as finance professionals increasingly see the link between doing good and doing well.”
Atmos Totnes is currently one of the first developments in the UK progressing through a Community Right to Build Order. The scheme seeks to develop and bring into community ownership a brownfield site in the centre of a market town, on the site of a previous Dairy Crest milk processing plant next to Totnes train station.
Sixty-two affordable residences are currently planned on the Atmos Totnes site as well as substantial amounts of community and enterprise space. The brief and designs have been developed through a collaborative programme of engagement and consultation involving over thousands of members of the community working with and alongside a professional design team. Together they have worked for 18 months to overcome considerable constraints on the site and realise the aspirations of the community around access to housing and employment in particular.
TCDS are facilitating the process at Atmos Totnes working in partnership with a leading housing specialists McCarthy and Stone who are set to build 37 retirement apartments (additional to the 62 affordable housing units to be developed by TCDS), and site owners Dairy Crest. A partnership such as this between a landowner, commercial developer and a community organisation is new in the development industry. It is hoped the partnership will set a national precedent and learning across the industry.
All short-listed nominees for the Social Investment Award including Totnes Community Development Society and CAF Venturesome are being invited to an awards ceremony at RBS Headquarters in London on the 3rd May 2015.
For more information:
Social Investment Awards Shortlist https://www.gov.uk/government/news/social-investment-awards-shortlist-announced
Totnes Community Development Society www.totnescommunity.org.uk
CAF Venturesome https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/caf-venturesome
