UKSPF Case Studies
Rural England Prosperity Fund
Work is underway in North Somerset to support rural businesses in developing new products and facilities.
Thanks to the government’s Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), £180,000 of funding was made available for capital improvements in North Somerset.
This work addresses challenges rural areas face, such as productivity, limited connectivity and less access to key services.
Hullabaloos Lemonade – scaling up their soft drinks business
Hullabaloos Drinks moved to their current premises in Loxton two years ago and have worked hard to be as natural as possible, creating a wildflower meadow, planting native hedging and regenerating a nature pond to help attract wildlife!
We only use natural ingredients across our range and create as little waste as possible through recycling and reducing packaging. With help and funding from North Somerset Council, we were able to purchase a specialist Bag in Box Filler together with a new mixing tank to scale up production of our Bag in Box range.
Our 10 litre Bag in Boxes are simple and work just like a box of wine! They contain the equivalent of 30 of our 330ml glass bottles and the cardboard and inner bag are recyclable. We are now selling them through our distributors to cafes, pubs and restaurants who can pour a glass of Hullabaloos directly from the box.
As we also sell into several different countries including Dubai, Kuwait and Morocco, we can now ship our drinks in the boxes rather than glass, reducing the weight. It has helped us to reduce costs so we can continue to provide jobs for our team, and we hope to take another team member on soon.
Randa
Lower Laurel House – All weather accessible BBQ Lodge
Coastal Cottage was established in December 2022, providing much needed accessible holiday accommodation. Since opening, the demand and appreciation has been overwhelming! The Cottage was designed around the disabled customer and all equipment and spaces are optimised for a wheelchair user.
After receiving money from REPF, Lower Laurel Farm have been able to develop one of the UK’s first accessible BBQ lodges.
The idea for a BBQ was conceived when discussing with customers how I could make best use of space around the cottage. The British weather isn’t always conducive to BBQs, especially for those with additional considerations. Working collaboratively with Melanie at BBQ Lodges in Somerset we were able to tweak their design to incorporate a lowered threshold, widened doorway and removable benches. Each of these tailored features ensures that the disabled person can fully partake in the BBQing as well as the social aspects that are possible in this unique space!
It would not have been possible to realise the potential of the BBQ lodge without bespoke work undertaken by our landscapers, Jon and Dave Price from Price Brothers in Weston- super-Mare. Jon and Dave worked closely with our other tradespeople to ensure level access was made possible into the Cottage as well as the BBQ Lodge. In addition to providing level access, the finish is great and has drawn many comments from our customers and passers-by alike
Paul Goddard
Hidden Valley Bushcraft – community bee keeping project
Hidden Valley Bushcraft offer a wide range of activities including wilderness living skills, survival and outdoor education, and reconnecting with nature. They also offer day workshops and residential programmes to aid in the recovery of injured veterans, military personnel and emergency service workers (Woodland Warrior Programme).
Thanks to REPF, they have been able to expand their current offering to include a community bee keeping project! Sessions see regular faces from across emergency services and Armed Forces Veterans as well as members of the local community.
During the sessions, volunteers create new hives and tend to the surrounding landscape up at their Woodland Warrior Programme Smallholding.
We are extremely grateful to receive support from North Somerset Council to allow us to purchase new hives and equipment. We have been able to set up a new Beehive Project based in Winford. So far 26 volunteers from the local community are engaged in the project with many of them attending our volunteer sessions throughout the year to help us build new hives and frames as well as preparing the new wildflower meadow.
It has been great to meet so many local, like-minded individuals, and to share my love and knowledge of bees. As an added bonus we are helping the environment in the process!
Louise Goldsmith
Mendip Activity Centre – accessible target sport ranges
Mendip is a 250-acre outdoor activity centre near Bristol and Weston-super-Mare, offering over 25 activities for individuals, groups, schools and families. Established in 1987, Mendip Activity Centre has grown into the biggest outdoor activity provider in the South West!
We are delighted to have received a REPF grant from North Somerset Council to allow us to build four new target sport ranges. These purpose built, covered ranges are fully accessible and enable individuals with additional physical and learning needs to try archery or air rifle shooting. It also means North Somerset residents can come and try archery or air rifle shooting under cover for the first time! My team worked extremely hard to ensure the new ranges were open in time for the Easter Holidays.