Barton Hill Settlement

Barton Hill Settlement (The Settlement) is a large multi-purpose community centre in East Bristol. The Settlement is one organisation with a variety of
community projects and also works closely with a variety of agencies and organisations to offer a wide range of services, activities, resources and facilities to the whole community and the local people with whom they work.

 

At the beginning

The Settlement came to us initially with an expression of interest in obtaining investment to further develop the office, meeting and conference room hire facilities it offers primarily to community organisations. The organisation proposed that this expansion would be met through the purchase of an additional property and the renovation of one of their existing buildings – The Farmhouse.

Mums and toodlers at a party at Barton Hill Settlement

Initially, Communitybuilders offered a feasibility grant of £75,000 to The Settlement, to enable it to work up a robust business plan and to carry out a development appraisal, including the production of detailed architectural drawings and a full suite of reports including utility surveys and structural/ground investigations.

What's next

Staff in the kitchen at Barton Hill Settlement

Once the feasibility work is complete, we have agreed to invest a further £1,043,110 in The Settlement. We agreed with the organisation and its local authority that just over £1 million was required to purchase the new property and refurbish The Farmhouse.

Communitybuilders offered £502,500 as a capital grant towards this project and a loan of the same amount (£502,500) to cover the remainder. A further
£38,000 revenue grant was offered to help build capacity and also to enable the organisation to measure its social impact.

Development of The Farmhouse will:

  • increase office space available to smaller frontline voluntary organisations
  • allow development of flexible meeting spaces
  • open an area for these smaller organisations to work, without which they may struggle financially and cease to operate
  • enable an additional seven to ten community voluntary sector to operate from the settlement (add to existing nine currently on the site)
  • improve the capacity of their already overbooked meeting spaces