Published: 19/12/2022
COPELAND Borough Council has agreed to part fund a £1.7 million furniture recycling facility.
Today (Monday), Copeland Borough Council’s Executive Committee agreed to allocate £500,000 towards the programme and lease a plot of land at Meadow Road, Mirehouse, for a reduced rent.
The ‘Revive’ programme will see two buildings in Mirehouse, Whitehaven, become home to a community initiative where furniture, and household items, will be upcycled and sold at a reduced cost or available free of charge.
The new Revive recycling centre will train residents, providing jobs and engagement activities for local people, whilst reducing waste going to landfill.
The programme will be rolled out in three stages:
- Phase one will focus on collecting and donating furniture to local people in need.
- Phase two will support skill building and training for local people through upcycling goods.
- Phase three will launch a ‘care and repair café’ where residents can learn how to repair goods, build friendships and tackle loneliness and isolation – a problem in the community.
The buildings, once finished, will include a workshop, showroom, café area, and meeting rooms.
Well Whitehaven, a project aimed at improving the lives of those living in the Mirehouse, Corkickle and Snebro community, has already pledged £300,000 towards the Revive programme.
The full £800,000 budget will enable phase one of the programme to go ahead. Further funding will be sought for phases two and three.
A portion of the funds (£200,000) will be set aside to help homeless families, those escaping domestic abuse and rough sleepers moving to settled accommodation. It will support the provision of furniture, white goods and other essential household items for their new homes.
Mike Starkie, Mayor of Copeland, said: “This is a really exciting programme that’s going to bring huge benefits to the Copeland community.
“In phase one, it will create six jobs initially, and phase two will enable many more residents to enhance their skills in furniture restoration and other areas.
“There’s a vital need for low cost and free furniture for people in financial difficulty, and with around 10 million household items sent to landfill every year, this is the ideal local solution to meet that need.
“The Executive Committee fully supports the Revive recycling centre and everything it has set out to achieve.”
Specialist project management support has been provided by Reboot, a social value initiative whereby nuclear sector organisations can give back to the community, to enable the programme to reach this stage.
Gary McKeating, Reboot Steering Group Member and Head of Community and Development at Sellafield, said: “Supporting the Revive recycling centre is a perfect example of how nuclear organisations can give back to the community by offering specialist skills as in-kind contributions.
“Our team has provided a wealth of project management support, free of charge, to enable an idea to become a reality.
“We look forward to continuing to support the Revive programme, and seeing the concept come to life.”
