In the coming months, the West Green Road/Seven Sisters Development Trust will be hosting workshops to shape the Wards Corner Community Benefit Society.
In March, the Mayor of London/Coops UK awarded the Trust support via their Boosting Community Business programme. Through this, we have received 8 days of training and mentoring, and an allocated Coops UK support provider, Cooperative and Mutual Solutions Ltd.
About the Wards Corner CBS
The Wards Corner CBS will be a new organisation that will restore and manage the Wards building. This will address problems caused by the long-term neglect of historic buildings and the market, delivering a new landmark gateway to Tottenham to kickstarting further improvements along the high street.
We’re establishing the Wards Corner CBS because the Trust has a wider remit than just Wards Corner. As such, the Trust has always intended to set up a separate organisation to deliver the community plan as its first project. Community benefit societies are a type of organisation that conduct business entirely for the benefit of the community. Rather than profits being distributed amongst members or shareholders, community benefit societies use them for the benefit of the community. Ultimately, the Trust’s role will be to reinvest any surplus from the Wards Corner CBS in other local initiatives.
The Wards Corner CBS will make the restoration and management of the Wards building a democratic process. Community benefit societies issue community shares on a one member, one vote basis. By contrast, the default position by company law is a one share, one vote basis. This means that those able to buy more shares will not receive a greater amount of voting power. As a result, the Wards Corner CBS accountable to the community.
For more information about community benefit societies, Coops UK’s handbook is a helpful resource. You can also found out more about the Wards Corner CBS in our Annual Report.
How to get involved
To guide the process of establishing the Wards Corner CBS, we will be facilitating workshops with key beneficiary communities and stakeholders. We will run specific workshops for market traders, local businesses, local residents, town centre users, Transport for London, and Haringey Council. These workshops will be open to all members of the relevant group. For example, the workshop for market traders will be open to all traders, not just those associated with the Seven Sisters Market Tenants Association. We encourage everyone eligible to play a role shaping the CBS.
We expect that these workshops will take place in September and October via Zoom. As soon as the programme is confirmed, we’ll be publishing information about how to register for these. Anyone interested is welcome to contact us, so we can send you details directly as soon as they’re available. Information will also be circulated by social media, emails, and flyering.