The issue of Sebby's Corner's premises is now extremely pressing. As you will know, We are a registered charity based at The Cannon in Thirsk Road, Borehamwood supporting families with basic essentials so no child goes without. Bianca Sakol MBE, started Sebby's in lockdown January 2021, received charity status in November 2021 and it has grown significantly since then thanks to the support we've received from our incredible Borehamwood community. The Council's lease with Shoshana Burns of Shoshana Burns School of Dance based at The Cannon (whom we rent space from) expires in September, rendering us homeless and we have been desperately searching for new premises. Unfortunately, we are completely priced out of the commercial market here in Borehamwood. We cannot afford the size of premises we need if we wish to remain in the borough. The Cowley Hill ward where we are situated ranks among the top 10 per cent most deprived areas in the country and the highest in the county. Evicting charities like ours that help to deal with the intense deprivation in the area only makes the situation worse. It feels particularly counter-intuitive when the impact will be additional pressure on council services. We have asked the council to consider postponing the plans to demolish the Cannon but with the chances of this happening being extremely slim, we are looking at our options. The work we are doing in the borough is essential and we will be devastated if we have to leave the networks, families and support we have built here.
We can afford some rent but we are completely priced out of most commercial properties here.
We can take any office/warehouse/retail space. Ideally ground floor (there's a lot of carrying!) but this isn't essential - if its not ground floor we would just need a lift. It needs to be at least 2,500 sq ft but the bigger the better really. The maximum we can pay is £15 per square foot, if it’s cheaper than that even better.
We will be using it as our offices and storage as well as having the families we support come in to collect their items so the landlord would need to be ok with that. Near public transport is a bonus but at least a couple of parking spaces is essential.
Location wise the best possible option is Borehamwood and surrounding areas. We really would like to stay in Hertsmere because of the relationships we have built but if we need to move to another borough, like Barnet, we will.
If you have any contacts that may be able to help, please ask them to contact us.
Thank you so much for your support
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