Client

Merseyside Domestic Violence Service

Local Authority
Liverpool City Council

Sectors
Health, Education, and Community
Key Project Information
- We provided planning and project management expertise pro-bono for this charitable project ‘Lift The Lid’,
- This charity venture is set to provide a safe space for people to open up about domestic violence.
- All profits will be used to help families across Liverpool experiencing domestic violence.
- We provided planning expertise to ensure the successful permission.
The project is led by Merseyside Domestic Violence Service (MDVS), helping the most vulnerable families in Liverpool, by safeguarding women, families, children and young people through education, empowerment and prevention.
The voluntary organisation offers support, advice, and educational programmes, breaking the cycle of abuse and aiding the recovery process.
The Coffee Pod will be run by volunteers who will gain skills, increase confidence, and improve their career opportunities. All profits will be used to help families across the city experiencing domestic violence.
The full successful planning application was for the siting of a shipping container in Great George Square, Liverpool, near to the Chinese Arch, to be utilised as a café kiosk safe area.
Our expert planning team worked alongside the Architectural Emporium who provided architecture and arboriculture services, also pro-bono.
To date, nearly £10,000 has been pledged to the project, including a generous kick start of £4,232 by the Mayor of Liverpool growth fund. In addition, £5,188 was pledged by the Steve Morgan Foundation in partnership with the Department of Culture Media & Sport. A further £480 came from pledges kindly made by members of the public.
The project will:
- Provide a service – selling quality, affordable coffee to the public.
Develop skillset – giving volunteers the opportunity to gain training, increase their skills and enhance their career opportunities. - Offer advice – providing a safe space for people to open up and discuss their personal experiences of domestic violence.
- Provide support – all money raised will be used by MDVS to help provide the best support to individuals and families affected by domestic violence.
Ayla Nasuh of MDVS, said: “It’s been uplifting to see the number of businesses and experts who have jumped on board to help us, we can’t thank them enough and we couldn’t have done it without them.
“We are all well aware that incidents of domestic abuse have sky-rocketed during Covid lockdown, and now more than ever we are excited to move our Lift the Lid campaign forward – it will make such a difference to so many people’s lives.”