Chesterfield community hub celebrates grant first

Monkey Park, on Chester Street, Brampton, has been awarded a £10,000 Match Trading grant to help improve the community through trade.

Residents use the hub for its social spaces including a café and children’s play area, opportunities for small businesses and start-ups, as well as a bike repair workshop and areas to sell local foods and crafts.

Launched with the aim of building a more resilient community, the hub operates on a not-for-profit basis employing part-time paid staff and volunteers.

Founder of Monkey Park, Simon Redding, said: “The Match Trade grant is a new way of awarding funds, so instead of being given some money and spending it on a specific project, they will measure how much we grow and they are going to match it. This makes us more sustainable and able to grow what we are already doing.”

Mr Redding has also bagged one of 100 places on the Community Business Trade Up Programme, where he will learn from other top entrepreneurs in the region.

He added: “We are really pleased about this as we are the only enterprise in Derbyshire to have been chosen for the programme. It will give me the chance to learn from a top group of people and find new ways to grow the business.”

The programme is run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, in partnership with Power to Change.