Community Dental Services CIC unveils new green mobile dental unit

Dan Gregory, Associate Director at Social Enterprise UK, reflects upon a trip to Plymouth - a hotspot of social enterprise activity with social enterprises running everything from generating energy and delivering dental care to running cherished local assets and driving innovation, including an idea for a new social enterprise fishfinger. Plymouth was the UK’s first official Social Enterprise City. While I hadn’t visited for ten years, I had followed progress and been in contact with Gareth Hart, Chair of the Plymouth Social Enterprise Network. Gareth is a fantastic advocate for the movement, both locally and more widely, and generously hosted a visit for four members of the Social Enterprise UK team to the city. What an absolute privilege to see such energetic social enterprises in action. A refreshing break from my usual trudge and drudge of drawing up policy briefings or government consultation responses, and being roundly ignored by NHS officials, to see real, actual social enterprise getting on with it. Let’s retread our steps! Here we are at Moments café, run by Memory Matters, a social enterprise that provides dedicated support to those affected by dementia. This is a warm and welcoming place, serving homemade comfort food, and at the same time, successfully competing with Costa just around the corner. Off to Union Street, where Nudge Community Builders’ dizzying ambition is renovating and unlocking empty buildings. The Plot hosts 18 small businesses, and hosts support for women starting their own enterprise - a SHE Plymouth programme delivered by Iridescent. The old Clipper pub is now home to Plymouth Jollof Kitchen CIC. We visited a mushroom farm in the basement of the old nightclub at C103. Space in Union Corner can be booked for £6 an hour. The Millennium building is opening up for young people and CNC machines to fit out new homes. By this time next week, Nudge will probably be turning half of Cornwall into a workshop for 3D printed specialist Korean salad leaves, creating jobs for ex-offenders in a hexagonal greenhouse literally made out of hope. Then we walked to Plymouth Energy Community, which combines a mix of fuel poverty alleviation and retrofit advice, powered by community shares and cross-subsidy from solar energy generation. A local power plan before the Local Power Plan. Over the bridge to Peninsula Dental, training the next generation of dental professionals, and treating vulnerable people in partnership with Plymouth University. Then to see old friends at Real Ideas Organisation in Devonport Market Hall, brought back from the dead to house the best immersive 360 degree auditorium in Europe, co-working spaces, a cafe and more. Here we heard from the diverse social enterprise community and two of the largest anchor organisations in the city. Plymouth Community Homes manages over 16,000 homes, while Livewell Southwest provides health and social care services for people across the city and beyond, employing 3,000 staff. Among old friends and established powerhouses, we also encountered start-ups and new ideas. Plymouth Fishing & Seafood Association and the University have “co-designed a Plymouth fishfinger” which is nearing production and sets out to solve about four local problems all at once. Making use of low-value fish, reducing waste, reopening the old fishing auction hall, generating income for the local fishing community, and healthier food in schools. The social enterprise fishfinger could be the answer! While the vibrancy of this Social Enterprise Place is first and foremost thanks to the hard work of each local social entrepreneur, of course, the enabling environment also helps. We explored how Rank Foundation has invested millions in this area. Status as the world’s first Social Enterprise City has helped attract attention and resources. The Council are onside. And the long-term commitment and expertise of local experts and enablers such as Gareth, and Lindsey and Ed from RIO are undeniable factors. Together, we discussed the challenges of business rates and the availability of appropriate funding and finance. Meanwhile, billions of pounds of investment is coming to the city over the next few decades, with Plymouth harbouring Britain’s continuous at sea nuclear deterrent. What is the relationship between investment in defence and social value? What are the ethics of working with defence companies? And more widely, how can we ensure social value isn’t just an accounting game to be played by corporates? The Government’s Pride in Place money is also coming to Plymouth. How do we ensure social enterprises, co-operatives and mutuals, community businesses (or even the impact economy or IDBMs if we really must) harness these opportunities to deliver change that communities feel? Finally, we get back on the train, more aware than ever of the importance of the fight for national changes that make this incredible local work more possible, everywhere. Thank you, Plymouth, for the inspiration.

September 2025 was a landmark month for Stitch, with the team delivering some of their biggest and most diverse projects - adding up to its biggest month to date. Every milestone contributes to Stitch’s mission: helping to combat homelessness, create second chances, and cut waste in the events industry. Highlights from the month included: World Design Congress at the Barbican – welcoming over 1,300 people in person and 2,800 online, the event was described as “all in all just brilliant.” UK Inclusive Sourcing Summit at the Guildhall – the first of its kind, this event championed diverse businesses entering corporate supply chains. Johnson & Johnson exhibitions – three striking stands across both Innovative Medicine and MedTech. CBRE Supplier Partner Event 2025 – supported by Stitch’s production team, providing expert media services. This record month marks a significant boost in impact. Full data will be shared in Stitch’s upcoming report. For now, the team is focused on building on 2024’s strong results, when 92% of materials were reused across productions and over 1,700 hours of Living Wage+ work were created for people affected by homelessness. To see more of Stitch’s work and join the community, follow them on LinkedIn – and if you’d like to discuss future projects, the team would love to hear from you. Stitch provides event production with social and environmental impact built-in -  Stitch is part of Connection Crew CIC, a social enterprise delivering stellar crewing services and creating living wage work for people affected by homelessness for nearly 20 years.  stichlive.co.uk

Jubilee Hall Trust Ltd has confirmed that GLL, a not-for-profit Social Enterprise and the UK’s largest leisure trust, will take over Jubilee Hall Gym in Covent Garden and in doing so will secure the long-term future of this much-loved community space. The leisure operator, which operates under the “Better” brand, has committed to investing £250k into the facility, introducing new gym equipment, refreshing the studio and changing rooms and installing a new hot water boiler.  A new programme of activities will also be introduced to supplement the existing offer and Jubilee Hall Gym members will be given immediate access to Better leisure facilities across London and the wider UK, including the nearby indoor and outdoor swimming pools at the Oasis Sports Centre in Holborn. Members of the Gym will also be eligible to apply for funding and practical help from the GLL Sport Foundation, the largest independent athlete support programme in the UK. GLL has committed to honour existing arrangements for the gym’s self-employed personal trainers and other hirers for a minimum of six months, with staff transferred to GLL employment via the standard TUPE process. Jon Giles, Chief Executive Officer of Jubilee Hall Trust Ltd said: “I am pleased that GLL, a Social Enterprise with the same values as Jubilee Hall Trust will take over at Jubilee Hall Gym. Not only will this safeguard the Gym for many years to come, providing security for personal trainers and hirers who remained loyal to us during recent, difficult times and enhancing members’ benefits considerably, it will also bring much needed investment which we simply could not afford to make. In addition, it will enable our Trust to continue the important community work we do within our other centres. Opening after Covid with limited cash reserves to navigate through energy and cost of living crises put the charity at significant risk of closure but we now have a brighter future ahead of us. “ Carol Martin, Chair of the Jubilee Hall Trust trustees added: “The trustees are delighted to be handing over the reins at Jubilee Hall Gym to GLL.  GLL offers benefits for members that far exceed anything we were able to provide, which I hope will encourage more members of the local communities back to Jubilee Hall Gym. I’m proud of how hard Jon and his team have worked in keeping services running at Jubilee Hall during very difficult times.  It is thanks to them and to the high regard that Jon is held within the community leisure sector, that we have been able to secure this offer from GLL. As such an experienced, well-established community leisure facilities provider, we are confident that Jubilee Hall Gym and its members will be in safe hands. “ Peter Bundey, Chief Executive Officer at GLL said: “This is good news for the local community, staff and partners. “We will rejuvenate the facilities, improve the member offer and increase membership numbers, creating a space that is welcoming to everyone regardless of age, fitness levels or financial means.  We will work to put Jubilee Hall back on a level financial footing, while our Social Enterprise status means that any future financial surpluses will be reinvested back into the inner London communities we serve.” It is anticipated that Jubilee Hall Gym will be transferred to GLL by the end of November 2025. About GLL GLL is a not-for-profit social enterprise committed to providing affordable leisure, fitness, and cultural activities to communities across the UK. Operating under the brand “Better,” GLL manages over 240 leisure centres, libraries, and community services in partnership with local councils and organisations. GLL’s mission is to improve lives through accessible and high-quality sports, leisure and cultural services, reinvesting its profits to further its social objectives. gll.org About Jubilee Hall Trust The Jubilee Hall Trust is a charity that aims to build strong healthy communities by promoting the fitness and wellbeing of the individuals within them. The Trust will continue to operate three health, fitness and sports centres in Hampstead, Southwark and Westminster and manage outreach community programmes such as GP Referral, Healthy hearts as well as invest more time to get their cancer Prehab and Rehab programmes off the ground with the Royal Free.