Traders secure lease to continue retail project

The project has generated more than £365,000 for local businesses, the organisers say

Traders who share a space in a retail centre said they were "ecstatic" to have signed a new three-year lease.

Unity, a collaborative retail project founded by the charity Up The Garden Bath, was set up at Queensgate Shopping Centre, Peterborough, on 16 November 2023.

It aimed to help dozens of independent and small businesses sell their products and has generated more than £365,000 for local businesses, said Dave Poulton, the co-founder of Up the Garden Bath.

Mr Poulton told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire that independently none of the business owners could afford their own shop, but have had success sharing one. He added that shoppers in Peterborough had embraced the idea.

Up The Garden Bath has installed more than 74 upcycled bathtub planters in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire

Queensgate Shopping Centre helped Unity secure a three-year extension to its lease after it "brought such a unique and inspiring presence to our space".

Alaina Davies, of Alaina Creates, said she had built up a new following of regular customers while being part of the retail project.

"Selling my products in the Unity store this past year has been monumental to the growth of my small business," Ms Davies said.

"I'm absolutely ecstatic to find out that the Unity store will remain for three more years."

Mr Poulton said Unity's parent organisation, Up The Garden Bath, would be seeking to raise £250,000 through crowdfunding to help finance other community projects.

Mr Poulton, who founded the not-for-profit community organisation with Kez Hayes-Palmer in 2020, hoped a fundraiser would help them deliver large-scale city projects.

Ms Hayes-Palmer said: “Being able to continue with our special collaborative community project until 2027 is a dream come true.

"Not only is it an incredible business opportunity but it also helps to gain so much exposure for the incredible creators we have on our doorstep.

“We’ve realised now is the right time, following the autumn budget, to appeal to the amazing people of Peterborough to get behind us and help us to cement our projects we have planned."