A social enterprise has launched a crowdfunder to help support its move from Kirkstall Road to a new – and bigger – temporary home.
Seagulls has been at Aire Place Mills since 2006, but its current buildings are due to be bulldozed as part of the regeneration of the area. Bosses at the enterprise, which collects and reuses unwanted household paint, have signed a five-year deal to take on premises three times the size in Water Lane, Holbeck.
They are appealing for help to support the move and set up and make their new home operational.
Seagulls, which closed its Aire Place Mills paint store at the weekend, will be 20 years old in October and one of Seagulls Founders, Cat Hyde, is still at the helm and guides the social enterprise.
She said: “In December we were told that our current home (of 18 years) is going to be bulldozed. Not the Christmas news we were expecting, however we dusted ourselves off and began the year home hunting.
“It became clear very quickly that the type of premises Seagulls needs (messy warehouse) is rare to find on the rental market and we decided that long-term we need to realise our dream of either buying or building our own home.
“The building is massive compared to our current home, at least three times the size! This however gives us the opportunity to expand our paint store and community benefits. A large proportion of the cost is in the people power. Although a lot of people have and are volunteering their time we cannot (and would not) expect independent electricians, plumbers and joiners to work for free.
We will need a large removal company to help move our furniture and workshop structure. This will enable us to keep as much of it as intact as possible to ensure a smooth transition. We will obviously need to rebuild at the other end.”
You can support the crowdfunder here.
Moving help required
Seagulls is looking to move most of its stock on Saturday, 18 May, to its new home and has appealed for volunteers to help out. More details on its Facebook page.