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Leave A Permanent Reminder Of Your Support

Did you know that we are offering physical rewards to those who pledge £50 and over to our crowdfund campaign before 15th December? You can leave a permanent reminder of your support for Project Hive for yourself, your family or in memory of a loved one.

A pledge of £50 will be rewrded with a personalised vinyl sticker.

Visit www.spacehive.com/project-hive and in a few clicks you can be a part of something amazing that will bring people together and create a lasting legacy for the community.

A £100 pledge will be rewarded with a personalised brick to feature as part of the build.

For £500 we are also offering the chance to have a paving slab personalised and featured within the grounds.

Smaller pledges are just as valuable to us as every pound counts and we have to hit our target to recieve any of the funding this campaign will bring. Please pledge WHATEVER you can.

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Oh, What A Night!

Our Chef & Spice Takeover was a sell out and turned into a lively affair. We raised a total of £1,729 towards Project Hive on the night, a great start to our crowdfund. We marked the occasion with with a huge raffle and a competition to be the first person there the pledge on our crowdfund page.

A lively time was had at Chef & Spice!
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Come Along To Our Public Meeting On 6th November

We will be holding a public consultation meeting at Dovelands Primary School on Wednesday 6th November at 7:30pm and we would like as many local residents and stakeholders as possible to come along.

During the meeting, you will have the chance to hear our vision for the new community space on the derelict Eco House site; see the initial plans for what the space will look like and talk with us about your views on the project, plus find out more about how you can support us as we embark on our crowdfund period.

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Announcing The Start Of Our Crowdfund Period.

In a joint partnership, Parmar Properties and the Western Ward Community Enterprise have entered into an agreement with Leicester City Council.This is a significant step forwards for us as we can now proceed to the next stage of our project with further fund raising and the initial stages of the design phase for the redevelopment of the Eco House site.

Our crowdfund period begins now, and will run until December.

The target for this stage is £26k. It’s vital we can demonstrate that a significant number of people are behind Project Hive during this time. When we hit this initial target, we will be able to show national funding providers that there is wide scale public support and obtain the capital costs (estimated £400k) we will need to complete the redevelopment.

Please visit our crowdfund page:www.spacehive.com/project-hive and pledge whatever you can. Larger contributions will be rewarded with permanent, personalised feature as part  of the build. £50 pledges will recieve an individualised vinyl wall sticker as part of the decoration of the interior of the building. £100 pledges will have an engraved brick and £500 an engraved paving slab incorperated in the grounds of the completed project. 

It is important to us that we continue the ethos of the original Eco House and make sure both the building and its construction have minimal impact on the environment. Our  design plans include installing solar panelling, a grey water recovery system and an air-sourced heat pump. Therefore, we are asking for pledges towards a feasibility study to include: early design stages, a tree survey, a quantity surveyor and a solicitor. 

Your support will mean that these key components are in place from day one and are fully integrated into the structure of the building.

Let’s not have this building stand empty and derelict any longer. Let’s bring the space alive: support Project Hive!

We have reached the stage where we are able to crowdfund for Project Hive!
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Western Park Scarecrow Trail A Big Success

The weekend of the 7th and 8th of September saw the staging of the very first Western Park Scarecrow Trail. Over the two days the Western Park community welcomed around one thousand participants to follow the trail.

There were scarecrows of all shapes and sizes.

The trail featured in the Leicester Mercury on the Friday before it started and we were joined by BBC Radio Leicester on the Sunday morning as part of their Clueless competition.

More colourful creations.

The event raised £1700 for Project Hive, a great start to our crowdfunding period.

The range of ideas was incredible.

The top three entries, as voted for by the public were: 1st “Yellow Brick Road”, 2nd “Diver On A Hedge” and 3rd “Laurel & Hardy The Music Box”

The top three scarecrows, as voted for by the public and BBC Radio Leicester’s presenter meets our Scarecrow Wedding.

It was lovely to see so many people out and about and talking to one another over the weekend. We had so much positive feedback and lots of requests for information about both Project Hive and how they could enter the trail next year. We would like to say a huge thank you to those who built scarecrows, our generous sponsors, Dovelands School for hosting the start point and, most of all, the lovely people that came out and followed the trail. Next up, the Chef & Spice Takeover night on October 7th.

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The Signs They Are A-Changing

From start to finish, the changing of the signs.

If you have walked or driven past Western Park along Hinckley Road recently, you may have noticed something looks a little different.

Last Saturday we finally managed to put up our sign in place of the tired looking Eco House one that has been slowly disappearing into the hedgerow over the last few years. We gave the hedge a good trim too.

For us it’s an important moment. We can finally broadcast to anyone that comes past the site, not just those we have been lucky enough to meet with, that something is happening. That it’s days of being a magnet for anti-social behaviour are coming to an end. It feels like a very long time since we held the first public meeting to announce our intentions. Keep your eyes peeled for news about the date of a follow-up meeting that will bring everyone up to date with events very soon.

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Project Hive Takes Over Braunstone Parkrun

On Saturday 31st August, members of Project Hive together with friends and family members assembled on Braunstone Park at a time many of them would usually still be in their pyjamas. They were there to volunteer as marshals for that week’s Parkrun, and to talk with the runners about Project Hive and our upcoming events. It was great to meet so many new faces.

Hivers Assemble!
Sam the scarecrow gets in on the action.
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Scarecrow Trail Sponsors Announced

The four local businesses that are sponsoring the Scarecrow Trail for 2019.

We are delighted to announce our generous local sponsors for the first year of the Western Park Scarecrow Trail which runs on September 7th and 8th starting from the playground at Dovelands School. You will be able to buy a guide to the locations of the 62 scarecrows from here between 10am and 3pm on both days. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

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Filming Our Crowdfunding Video

Say CHEESE! everyone…

On 2nd August we assembled a group of enthusiastic volunteers from the local community to help of with the filming of our crowdfunding video. They were joined by our local PCSO Sally Morgan, Councillor Susan Barton and BBC Radio Leicester’s Tim Parker.

You will be able to see the results very soon when we premiere the video to coincide with the official launch.

In the meantime, everyone at WWCE would like to say a massive thank you to everyone that was there on the day and those who helped with additional filming in the following days.

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Keep The Kids Busy This Summer Holiday!

Are you looking for something to keep the kids out of trouble this summer holiday? Something to get them off a computer game and away from a TV screen? Why not build a scarecrow and grab your chance to win £100? Just make sure you register to enter the Western Park Scarecrow Trail before the end of July, then you’ve got all of the summer holiday to build your magnificent creation for entry on the weekend of 7th & 8th September.

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Two Festivals In One Day

Saturday 22nd June turned out to be very busy day for the WWCE team, we were at two local festivals, meeting new faces and spreading the word about Project Hive, simultaneously!

Setting up for the West Gate Family Festival.

West Gate School held their Family Festival from 12pm until 3pm. For us this was an important chance to introduce ourselves and Project Hive to a new audience of potential users for the inclusive community space we plan to create. It was also a great chance to establish links to some of the teaching team which we look forward to strengthening in the future.

Scarecrow Sam meets pupils from Dovelands Primary.

Meanwhile, Scarecrow Sam was meeting parents and pupils (and Mr Walker) at Dovelands Primary’s Summer Fayre. We were there to promote the upcoming Western Park Scarecrow Trail and to update everyone on the latest developments with Project Hive. There were lots of questions on how exactly you go about building a scarecrow and what are the secrets of successful stuffing. Sam was more than happy to demonstrate. We can’t wait to see what the local community creates when the trail arrives on the 7th and 8th of September. Remember, your chance to register closes at midnight on July 31st. Don’t miss out!

Mr Walker meets Scarecrow Sam.
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Project Hive Is Taking Over Chef & Spice (For One Night Only)

We’ll be taking over on Monday 7th October 2019!

Project Hive will be taking over the multi-award-winning Chef & Spice restaurant on Leicester’s Hinckley Road for one night only on Monday 7th October 2019 after they have kindly agreed to help us with our fundraising efforts.

Offering a truly memorable buffet dining experience with first class service and award-winning food prepared in a live kitchen theatre, it will be a night not to be missed! Our team will also be running a raffle on the night with some fantastic prizes.

You can purchase tickets for the evening by following this link…

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/project-hive-chef-spice-takeover-tickets-63811077651

We hope to see you all there!

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Scarecrow Sam Is Going On Tour!

Sam, the WWCE scarecrow, is going on tour around some of Leicester’s familiar landmarks in the coming weeks. He’s promoting the Western Park Scarecrow Trail on the 7th & 8th of September. If you spot him out and about, grab a selfie with him and share it on social media.

Meet Sam, the WWCE scarecrow.

We still need scarecrow builders for the event. You can register your scarecrow for the chance to win £100 via our Facebook event page, or direct on the Eventbrite website. Search Western Park Scarecrow Trail.

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Local Children Stage A Spectacular “Trashion Show”

Pupils from Inglehurst, Christ The King and Dovelands Primary Schools joined forces last month and took part in a spectacular “Trashion Show” for their friends and families at New College Leicester in aid of Project Hive. We were delighted to have more than sixty children design, create and then showcase their outfits. They strutted, twirled and high fived an audience of more than 150!

The children were tasked with making something that promoted Recycling, encouraged Reuse and championed Reducing the amount of waste we produce. Each outfit demonstrated style, creativity and innovation – our budding fashion designers of the future! 

Thank you to all the children who took part in the show, the students of New College for giving up their time to do the hair and make-up and for New College itself for the free use of the hall.  Keep your eyes peeled for more next year, even bigger and better!

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Scarecrow Builders Needed!

The first Western Park Scarecrow Trail will be held 7th-8th September 2019.

We are excited to be planning the very first Western Park Scarecrow trail for September this year but what’s a Scarecrow Trail without any scarecrows?

We need our community to get involved and build scarecrows, there is a cash prize of £100 for first place and other prizes for runners up.

The area we are planning to cover with the Scarecrow Trail.

To be eligible to take part in the competition you’ll need to register your entry, you can do this through our Facebook event page or by following this link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/western-park-scarecrow-trail-registration-tickets-58913635269

Register before midnight, 31st May 2019 to qualify for early bird rate of £6 (£10 thereafter).

Display your scarecrow in your front garden from 10am, Saturday 7th September until 3pm on Sunday 8th September.

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Pop-Up Tea Room Another Big Success

The Pop-Up Tea room returned to St Anne’s Church Hall on Saturday 16th March. Organised by the local community in aid of Project Hive, the grand total raised by the time the last scone had been munched was an amazing £1413.25!!! We’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone that helped organise, bake and eat. We are truly humbled by your efforts.