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Project generates £500k for small businesses

Harriet Heywood
BBC News, Peterborough
Up The Garden Bath Dave Poulton and Kez Hayes-Palmer are stood outside the Unity store in Queensgate. Inside looks busy and has lots of different independent businesses/ stalls inside. Dave is tall and wears a black hoodie with Up the Garden Bath branding. He has brown hair and some facial hair. Kez has long blonde hair, pink lipstick and a silver nose ring. Her nails are painted pink and she is holding up a blue sign for Up the Garden Bath. Up The Garden Bath
The success of the project demonstrates that when businesses put people and purpose at their core, they can truly flourish, say Unity co-founders Dave Poulton and Kez Hayes-Palmer

A collaborative retail project has generated £500,000 in sales revenues to help small businesses.

In 2023, Up The Garden Bath began its Unity project at Queensgate Shopping Centre, Peterborough, to help independent and small businesses sell their products.

The project secured a three-year extension to its lease at the shopping centre in 2024.

Co-founder, Kez Hayes-Palmer, said the project gave artisans and entrepreneurs a platform to showcase their work at a time when "retail is struggling".

Founders of Up The Garden Bath, Ms Hayes-Palmer and Dave Poulton, said the revenue generated through Unity helped community driven retail to thrive "in today's economic landscape".

They said it gave shoppers a locally crafted alternative to mass-produced goods and reinvested profits into environmental community projects.

Unity also offered free create-and-craft areas for people to learn new skills.

Ms Hayes-Palmer said: "Collaboration is so important and we are stronger if we work together towards a common goal.

"Retail is struggling at the minute with more and more stores closing.

"Most small businesses struggle to finance a retail store on their own but together we have created something special that resonates with the public."

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