Cae Post, an innovative charity and social enterprise, has submitted a bid to Powys County Council to take over its premises in Trewern, Welshpool, through a Community Asset Transfer.

Cae Post is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and is looking to the future with its bid to take over the Trewern premises so it can carry on providing employment and training opportunities to local people for years to come.

Speaking about the bid, Sue Packer, General Manager at Cae Post, said: “Cae Post exists to help people take part in economic and community life and we actively develop links with the public, private, voluntary and community sectors. These are two of the main aims of a Community Asset Transfer, according to Powys County Council, and so Cae Post clearly meets the criteria for this bid to be accepted.”

For 30 years it has delivered services that ultimately provide people who have a range of disabilities, or who are disadvantaged in the labour market, with the same opportunities as anyone else for contributing to their community through work. Currently, Cae Post offers waste management and recycling to businesses and households across mid-Wales.

Added Sue: “Recently, Powys County Council decided not to extend our contract to deliver kerbside recycling, bringsite collections of plastic and cans and the operation of the materials recovery facility – services we have successfully operated for well over a decade. We accept, of course, that the County Council has the right to bring the service in-house – but it will impact significantly on our clients who benefit so much from working at Cae Post each week.

“The important thing for us now is to be secure in our premises, so that we can plan for the future and develop new income streams that allow us to continue our work with some of the county’s most deserving people.”

Cae Post will be contacting all of Powys’s councillors to remind them of the important work the social enterprise does in giving people who, for whatever reason, find it difficult to get jobs, offering people the chance to improve their lives and contribute to society. Cae Post will of course be asking councillors to support the Community Asset Transfer.

Cae Post is unique within Powys in the way it has pioneered a model of working that empowers people who otherwise might find it difficult to secure work and training opportunities.

Cae Post’s future plans for the building in Trewern will see it increasing the opportunity for young people to access work-based learning, improving access to work for people with learning disabilities and encouraging more people to volunteer.

Said Sue Packer: “If we are successful with our bid to Powys County Council, ownership or a long lease of the building will enable us to seek investment to develop new businesses. This will mean we can provide increased job and volunteering opportunities, reduce poverty and assist in the economic and environmental well-being of not only Powys but the rest of Wales well into the future.”

If you would like to find out more about Cae Post, please visit www.caepost.co.uk.