In December 2018, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, announced six London boroughs would be designated as Creative Enterprise Zones with the aim of supporting individuals, entrepreneurs and creative businesses to start, grow and thrive in the capital. The boroughs have committed to providing:
Space: Permanent, affordable, creative workspace and live-work spaces at below market rents and ensuring no net loss of space Skills and support: Building entrepreneurial skills and offering business support to artists, start-ups, sole traders, micro-sized and small businesses, developing career pathways and opportunities for progression into the creative industries and supporting sectors Policy: Local Plans with pro-culture policies in planning, housing, business development, technology and infrastructure, and supportive business rates policies Community: Embedding creative production in communities, creating socially-inclusive places and strong links with education providers Now with the coronavirus pandemic decimating businesses, changing life as we know it and putting immense stresses on food businesses and support groups to feed vulnerable people, should the scheme be modelled and applied to create Community Food Enterprise Zones across the capital and extended to the UK regions? What could a Community Food Enterprise Zone achieve locally? In the short term, I think a local Community Food Enterprise Zone scheme could help: · co-ordinate community food and meal distribution · identify and liaise with landlords, schools, colleges, restaurants, cafes forced to close and broker meanwhile use opportunities for community food projects in need of kitchen space · help co-ordinate borough, town or city-wide emergency food support to vulnerable people · share good practice and resources to help businesses and charities through the crisis In the longer term · support local food, hospitality and catering businesses back into trading · create a local Community Development Finance Institute (CDFI) to help fund business, social enterprises and individuals in the food, hospitality and catering industries · provide community cooking classes and training unemployed and vulnerable groups in hospitality · provide a map of local kitchen space to help food entrepreneurs and social enterprises trade from · help shape local food policies and processes to help prepare and plan for more robust and joined up food systems · help to deliver the Mayor London’s London Food Strategy and Sustain UK’s wider Sustainable Food Cities initiative What do you think?
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December 2022
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