Streets of Growth lifeline due to unique partnership with Unite Students
In September 2022, Streets of Growth were thrown a timely lifeline due to a unique partnership with Unite Students. They selected us as the multi-award-winning grass-roots charity to lead and run their new D1 Community Development and Performance space at their flagship building, Hayloft Point, at Aldgate East in London.
​
Unite Students is the UK’s leading manager and developer of student accommodation. They provide a ‘Home for Success’ to more than 74,000 students in 172 purpose-built properties in 25 of the UK’s university towns and cities. The new flagship space is built on a historic site where a mid-16th century Elizabethan Theatre once stood. Unite Students incorporated this heritage in the design by building a purpose-built glass-sided performance venue and a museum of artefacts discovered when the site was excavated, collated by Museum of London. Despite our 22 year history, this is the first secure long term headquarters we have ever had and raises the bar on intervention and access into creative industries and other sectors for young people.
​
Pictures courtesy of Manalow & White Architects
As well as building a creative partnership with Unite Students, a fast-growing cross-collaboration is also emerging with other innovative charities, organisations, institutions and communities in the regeneration of the historic Petticoat Lane Market district. Interweaved into this is our intervention and prevention work in partnership with the Met and City Police in creating better safety for communities, especially as the west side of the borough has experienced some of the worst youth and adult violence and crime.
The opportunity to have a dynamic physical presence right on the city fringes means that we can dramatically transform the way we create employment opportunities for young people. This partnership is contributing to supporting local communities to build a deeper sense of belonging and employment through the enterprise projects being created, whilst also tackling and reducing harm in the borough such as knife violence and gang criminality.