Maidstone Community Support Centre has been operating for more than 30 years. Based in the very heart of Maidstone, it provides much-needed affordable office space for charities and other voluntary organisations.
The building was constructed during the Victorian period and has had many uses before the charity took it over. It now boasts 75 offices and sessional hire spaces over 3 floors, and is home to local and national charitable and community organisations.
To find out more about the charitable centre and its challenges, we spoke to Tad Taberer, the centre’s chief executive.
What does the Maidstone Community Support Centre do?
We were set up as a charitable organisation 33 years ago. We own and run a large building that was used to provide accommodation to nurses who worked at the old Maidstone West Kent Hospital. Today it offers affordable office accommodation for not-for-profit organisations.
Within our building are many types of organisations. These include counselling, mental health and disability groups, as well as a credit union, community radio station and specialist counselling services.
On the ground floor, we have spaces that any organisation can hire for meetings, training or small events. We also have an on-site café that has just been reopened by Age UK Maidstone.
What would you say your challenges are?
Covid-19 was obviously a big challenge for us. Before the pandemic, we were at full capacity with our office space. All that changed during the lockdowns. We lost 30 office spaces when groups either gave up or downsized. Our sessional room hire, which is a large part of our business, also had to cease due to lockdown restrictions. The café was forced to close too.
We did, however, partially furlough our team and receive some local Covid-19 support grants, which supported us to a degree and gave us a small safety net.
Now that lockdowns have ceased, hopefully for good, we have managed to re-let all of our vacant office spaces. This now means we have more organisations and groups based here than we did pre-pandemic. Sessional room hire has continued to be difficult due to changes in the ways of working, but it is slowly growing again now people are more confident to attend meetings. Nevertheless, we are still some way off the volume of hire we had pre-pandemic.
Our current challenge is energy costs. We have a big, Victorian-era building with 130-year-old windows, high ceilings and spaces that are hard to heat. In the past month, our electricity bill has gone up by 250%.
We knew that increasing the rents on our office spaces by too much to assist with the rising energy prices would have a negative impact on the organisations based here. Our Board of Trustees therefore decided to absorb as much of the increase in costs as possible to continue to support the organisations who call this building home.
We have now heard that the energy cost support for businesses and charities will be reduced after April. This is a worry, especially as the costs have increased so much.
We find it difficult to get any external funding as we don’t meet a lot of the criteria for many grant schemes. Our organisation is not a frontline service; we are a bricks and mortar charity. But without us, the charities in our building wouldn’t be able to easily base themselves in the heart of Maidstone and therefore be accessible to those who use the crucial services they provide.
What are your challenges in terms of insurance?
Managing and mitigating risk, particularly health and safety, is paramount. We are in an old building and have multiple organisations based here with a footfall of around 40,000 people. Fire is a key concern too, so we have an external Health & Safety Consultant who carries out all our risk assessments, including our fire risk, and oversees the general health & safety of the building. The security of the building is another important risk to consider as our building isn’t manned 24 hours, but our groups are able to access the building at all times.
As a charity, affordability, value for money and ensuring you have the right cover are obviously very important. Choosing the right insurance can be a minefield but with Chris Knott Insurance we are confident we have policies in place that suit the needs of our organisation at an affordable price.
How did Chris Knott Insurance help you to find the right protection?
Adam Taylor, our commercial manager, has been superb. I can just pick up the phone to ask him questions or talk about any issues. He also visits the centre every year to check in and make sure our cover is right, discuss any changes and make sure that as a charity we get a great deal with our policy. It’s great to have personal contact with someone who understands us and what we do. It gives you confidence in your cover.
As a result, we have the appropriate Building Insurance, Public Liability Insurance and Employers’ Liability Insurance in place, which were recommended by Adam and Chris Knott Insurance.
I would definitely recommend Chris Knott Insurance. In fact, I’ve already recommended them to others!
What does the future hold for the Maidstone Community Support Centre?
We will hopefully be here for another hundred years. Things are changing every day at the moment, but I am very confident that as an organisation we can weather the current crisis the country is facing. We got through Covid, so I have no doubts we can get through this. We have a knowledgeable and effective team to help us meet any challenges ahead.
Do you need help with your Charity Insurance?
Chris Knott Insurance specialises in Charity Insurance and cover for other not-for-profits. To get the cover you need, speak to our experienced team on 0800 917 2274 or request a quote now.
Read more charity case studies: The Pelham.
