Southall Manor House is set to have a new lease of life as social enterprise, Meanwhile Space, takes over management of the council’s Grade II listed building for the next two years.
Experts in transforming underused and vacant spaces into vibrant community and enterprise facilities, Meanwhile Space, will be working with the local business and residents in Southall to revive the iconic Manor House and bring it back into use as property that benefits the local community in Southall.
The aim of the project is to establish Southall Manor House as a thriving, and financially self-sufficient building that the borough and the local community in Southall can be proud of.
Meanwhile Space has already begun canvasing for ideas about activities the building can host, and they are now working through more than one hundred responses they received to their recent survey.
Suggestions have included using the space as:
- Event space (both large and small)
- Hot-desking/ co-working space
- Community café
- Catering and training facilities
Key to their plans will be supporting entrepreneurs, offering affordable rents and providing an environment for new businesses to test out their ideas.
‘A really bright future for Southall’
“A priority of the new administration is to make sure that we are bringing good jobs back to Southall and that we are also developing, alongside that, all the community infrastructure that is needed.
So, it is fantastic that we can work with Meanwhile Space to bring this building back in to use for the community,” said Peter Mason, leader of Ealing Council.
“I know Meanwhile space is going to bring a new way of working with the community to understand what needs to happen here to enable the community to thrive.
“I think it’s going to be a really bright future for Southall over the next year and beyond and I am really looking forward to coming back here in a couple months’ time when this place will be buzzing and thriving and people will feel like this theirs, because it is.”
‘We are really excited by the potential here.’
Eddie Bridgeman, executive director of Meanwhile Space, said: “We are excited to be here in this beautiful Grade II listed building in this lovely location. This is probably the most stunning building that we have worked with, and we are really excited by the potential here.
“The opportunity to us is simple, it is to open up the space so that it is useful for the local community and that changing local community.
“So if you know someone in Southall looking for space for their business or know someone who knows someone, tell them about Southall Manor House.”
To find out more about the project and Meanwhile Space visit manorhouseosuthall.com.
