In relation to the identified priorities in the Guidance & Essential criteria what will your idea achieve and who will benefit from your project?
New bakery equipment to create local jobs, train skills, bake artisan bread and fund community arts, workshops and town centre regeneration.
Please describe what you plan to do and what the money will be used for? (i.e., purchase equipment/resources)
At Narture, we use food and art to shape a brighter future. This project will enable us to upgrade a critical piece of bakery equipment—a brand-new, energy-efficient deck oven—which is central to everything we do.
Our current oven is second-hand, very old, and inconsistent, which slows production and makes it hard to deliver high-quality bread reliably. A new 3-tray, 2-deck oven with integrated steam will transform our bakery:
Increase production and quality: Consistent heat and steam means our sourdough bread will be reliably excellent.
Support learning and skills development: Our bakery is a training ground for marginalised groups—school leavers, people in recovery, and others seeking work opportunities. Here, they gain artisan skills that are hard to find elsewhere, building confidence and opening doors to local employment.
Strengthen local jobs and apprenticeships: The new oven allows us to scale up our bakery operation, creating more roles for young people and local residents.
Fuel arts, culture, and wellbeing projects: Income from bread sales directly supports workshops, music events, and wellbeing initiatives, making the bakery a hub for creativity and social connection.
This project sits at the heart of our core pillars: food, arts, wellbeing and sustainability. By investing in this equipment, we can expand our community reach, delivering high-quality artisan bread, and continue providing a space where people can learn, create, and thrive.
By upgrading our bakery, we can also grow our wholesale customer base, increasing income that makes the organisation both financially and environmentally sustainable. This enables us to run more creative projects, provide employment, and operate as a community-owned, structured social enterprise. Our work supports experiential retail and cultural tourism, giving people a reason to visit the town and encouraging them to buy local.
This proposal aligns with the Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP) objectives by:
Linking and aligning place-based initiatives, helping to establish a coherent local framework and implement the Place Principle.
Supporting town centre revitalisation, community-led regeneration, and local wealth-building through meaningful jobs and opportunities.
Ensuring our cultural programming reflects and shapes investments according to local community needs and aspirations.
Supporting a healthier planet and people, building inclusive local economies, reducing inequality, and giving communities a real stake in their town.
In short, this oven upgrade isn’t just about baking better bread—it’s about nurturing creativity, building skills, supporting wellbeing and strengthening our town’s social, cultural, and economic life.
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