AN iconic Dudley building is about to undergo a major revamp to become a vibrant hub for the community- and you can get involved.
Provision House is the new name of the 1930’s art-deco building on the High Street which began life as the Co-Operative Emporium back in 1939.
Black Country social enterprise Loaves and Fishes moved from their previous base in Blackheath to the Dudley town centre building last year, where they have opened the Provision House Emporium on the ground floor and a warehouse from which they supply furniture, food and items for people in need across the Black Country.
Now, the team want to open the rest of the spacious building to people and organisations who work to do good for the people of Dudley and the wider Black Country.
Mark Price, CEO of Loaves and Fishes, explained: "Our building is huge and we're not using all of it, because we're called Provision House we want to provide space if we can for other similar organisations, charities, who do good for other people.
"When people come to us for help we will help them in as many was as we can, then if we can point them to somebody else in the same building we can provide complimentary services, so people will not just fall through the cracks and get lost in the system.
"We can point them to people who can help them there and then."
Loaves and Fishes recently secured a £10,000 grant from the National Lottery to carry out a feasibility study into the building to explore how it can be best put to use.
The first step on the journey is to gather the opinions from the community on how the building should be used.
An open day takes place tomorrow (July 13) for members of the public to pop along and see the space for themselves and to share what they think the people of Dudley need and want.
Mark said: "Anyone can drop in and give us their opinion, what would they like to see at this end of Dudley, what can we do, what can we provide for people."
The building, which is previous incarnations has been known as Blunt's Shoes and Toppe Shoppe is already being put to good use as it is currently hosting services from nearby Top Church while the historic church is being renovated.
Mark is also inviting people to bring along any photos, stories and memorabilia they have of the historic building to Saturday's open day, as he is keen to respect the heritage of the High Street staple.
Mark added: "We think it's exciting, we've got big plans ahead and we would be delighted for people to join us on this journey."
The open day takes place at Provision House, on the High Street on Saturday July 13, from 2pm to 4pm.
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