Enfield community pulls together to fight Coronavirus
SEGRO, a leading owner, manager and developer of modern warehouses and light industrial property, is working with the London Borough of Enfield and other community groups to help support some of the borough’s most vulnerable people during the Coronavirus crisis.
A newly refurbished 14,000 sq. ft. unit at SEGRO’s Great Cambridge Industrial Estate is now occupied by Enfield Council to become London’s first Coronavirus Community Hub. As well as storing food already ordered by the council, the Community Hub also includes a call centre fit for the 40 essential workers. The hub will deliver the food and other supplies to thousands of Enfield residents who have either registered for assistance through the Council‘s Enfield Stands Together campaign, or have been identified as extremely vulnerable by the NHS. It will also ensure that local children who would normally receive a free school meal continue to do so.
Cllr Nesil Caliskan, Enfield Council Leader, said:
“This hub is getting vital food and pharmaceutical supplies to our most vulnerable residents at a time they are critically needed.
“We have mobilised the whole of the Council’s resources to protect residents and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure people from our borough get the support and assistance they need during this incredibly difficult time.
“I’d like to thank all the businesses in the borough who have helped us establish this hub and donated supplies and the hundreds of local people who have come together to volunteer to help us protect out borough’s most vulnerable residents.
“This project is a wonderful example of how Enfield Stands Together when times get tough, to show compassion and support for those people who need help the most. Once again this borough has risen to the challenge and I am proud of the way we are tackling the challenge posed by COVID-19.”
In an adjacent building to the Community Hub, SEGRO has provided some temporary rent-free space to The Felix Project, a food redistribution charity collecting surplus food from suppliers and delivering it to good causes across the capital. Currently there is more food being donated than The Felix Project can manage from within its existing accommodation. An additional unit has been made available on the SEGRO Park Enfield estate to allow the charity to expand its operations rapidly and effectively to meet this growing demand, with an army of 1,500 volunteers continuing to deliver 22,000 meals a day.
Mark Curtin, CEO, The Felix Project said:
“Thanks so much to SEGRO for making this unit available to allow us to ramp up our operations in a time of great demand. Vulnerable people in London need food now more than ever – an extra unit means we can move ever quicker to collect, process and deliver more good, nutritious, free food to people in need.”
Alan Holland, Business Unit Director Greater London, SEGRO said:
“These are unprecedented times and it is more important than ever to show compassion and care so the most vulnerable people in our communities have access to the help they need through this difficult time.
“It is heartening to see organisations like Enfield Council and The Felix Project coming together for the people of Enfield. Supporting the communities where we operate within is as imperative for us today as it was to our founders 100 years ago and we are proud to play our part in enabling these fantastic people and organisations to offer these valuable services.”
Community Hubs were established in response to the call from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to set up distribution centres across the UK. The hubs will play a critical role for supplying food, medicine and essential household items to those who have been advised by the government to remain in self-isolation at home to protect them against contracting Coronavirus.
To further support this initiative, SEGRO has created a document detailing available warehouse spaces across its Slough and London portfolio that are available for local authority partners during the Coronavirus pandemic. SEGRO will be providing fast track access to properties to make it easier for local authorities to establish the hubs.
ABOUT SEGRO
SEGRO is a UK Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and listed on the London Stock Exchange in the FTSE 100 index. It is a leading owner, manager and developer of modern warehouses and light industrial property with a portfolio comprising 8 million square metres of space (86 million square feet), valued at £12.2 billion. Its assets are positioned strategically at locations in the UK across London and the South-East and Midlands regions, while in Continental Europe it has developments in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, The Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
For 100 years SEGRO has been creating the space that enables extraordinary things to happen. From modern big box warehouses, used primarily for regional, national and international distribution hubs, to urban warehousing located close to major population centres and business districts, it provides high-quality assets that allow its customers to thrive.