Co-operatives UK launches last in series of guides for community enterprises

The
national trade association for co-operative enterprises has launched the final
part of its Community Enterprise Toolkit at the Co-operatives UK Autumn Forum
today (Tuesday 29 November) in Manchester.

The last in a
comprehensive set of guides and online resources for new and existing community
enterprises has been published by Co-operatives UK, to offer simple, step by
step advice for the increasing numbers of communities doing things for
themselves.

The 'Simply Start-Up'
guide has been produced as a finale to a four year project that has helped over
350 community groups turn their ideas for a local, collectively owned business
into a reality - from community supported agriculture projects in rural
Gloucestershire to co-operatively run market gardens in East London.

Ed Mayo, Secretary
General of Co-operatives UK, believes that there is something very different
about the sorts of community enterprises that are now being set up.

"Our work seems to have tapped into a
real sense of activism amongst people who have a specific idea and are more
than happy to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty, together,” he
says.

"The
co-operative sector as a whole has been outperforming the UK economy since the
start of the credit crunch, reflecting a turn to more trusted businesses
following the financial crisis of the last few years.

"The rise of communities doing things for themselves -
whether it's growing together on land, taking over their local pub or wrestling
some control back over their football club - shows that people are frustrated
by waiting for others to help their community and are transforming it
themselves instead."

To find out more
about the Co-operatives UK Community Enterprise Toolkit and to download a copy,
please visit www.uk.coop/simplyseries.