The launch of a new social enterprise in White City run by the community to deliver services to the community has been welcomed by Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
White City is one of 12 Government-backed Neighbourhood Community Budget Pilots, now known as the “Our Place! Programme”, to encourage the community and public bodies to work more closely together to tackle local issues.
The community and Hammersmith & Fulham Council launched “Team White City” to act as the new face of public services in the area, encouraging local residents to play a greater role in their neighbourhood.
White City Enterprise wants to work with the council and Public Health organisations to deliver local services more effectively and more efficiently. It also says it will work with local people to tackle other critical issues such as crime reduction and local unemployment. White City Enterprise is applying for charitable status and says it will plough 100% of the funds it raises back into the local community.
White City Enterprise already runs the popular White City Community Centre and will be managing the Big Local programme, investing £2m in the area over the next 10 years.
The enterprise is looking at running a parent mentoring scheme in White City and also wants to consider the scope for community involvement in other areas of work, including offering a possible ‘handy person’ service for small repairs in White City and the delivery of child and adult care services.
Harry Audley, Chair of White City Residents Association, is a key member of the White City Enterprise Board. Harry said: “There are huge amounts of skills and abilities among my neighbours in this area. Many of us have worked for years to get organisations to realise the real value of the local community. White City Enterprise will be the key tool in doing that in the coming years.”
Don Foster MP – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government said: “We are keen to put communities in control of their neighbourhoods – that was what we started to test with Neighbourhood Community Budgets and are taking this forward through the Our Place! Programme. It’s why we have introduced a range of new community ‘rights’. It is great to see local people in White City coming together and taking the initiative to tackle local issues and I wish White City Enterprise the very best with their endeavours.”
H&F Council Leader, Cllr Nicholas Botterill said: “White City is an area of untapped potential and White City Enterprise has the ability to unlock the huge capabilities of the local community. This council fully supports initiatives that see proactive groups of people come together to make their neighbourhoods a better place and we look forward to a long and successful relationship with White City Enterprise.”
