Enterprise, Training and & Innovation
In 2017, a business group put together a proposal to purchase the unused Brigidine Convent in the town with the remit of opening a community enterprise center. The plan was to rejuvenate business in a rural Irish town and give local people a place from which they could incubate their business idea. The group formed a sustainable project that would host a business enterprise center, a health and fitness academy, and a community hub.
Why travel to work when you can have it all under one roof?!
After the release of a Strategic Town Planning document by Laois Council in 2015. The proposal outlined the group's ideas to develop a center of business, health and wellbeing, community outreach, and community development. The Brigidine Sisters were delighted with the idea and passed the building for free, in trust to the group, for the express use of community development. Three years on, and the project is moving from strength to strength, in 2019, it won 9 of the IPB, Pride of Place Awards for most innovation community idea. Phase 1 of the project included the renovation of Hub 1, the Health and well-being and fitness hub, and the community hub. Phase 2 is nearing completion and includes the renovation of a stand-alone building for training and meetings and a state-of-the-art conference center that will attract business from all over the country.
To date, the BloomHQ project has become a home to community groups, start-up businesses, entrepreneurs, social care companies, and community education programmes. Our community education programmes have seen a number of participants gaining further employment as a result. Our state-of-the-art meeting facilities have been used by public and private companies from Cork to Kerry, and Dublin as we are strategically located along the M8/M9/M7 motorways.
BloomHQ is situated in a Brigidine Convent built-in 1809, and the exterior of the building has not changed much since. Given the high numbers of visitors to our hub from locations outside of county Laois, it is often noted that they cannot find out premises. Placement of signage in the town to direct national visitors to the hub would be beneficial.
The development of the enterprise hub has seen a knock-on effect with other local businesses in the town as our members regularly shop local, catering services are ordered in locally, and all services/trades needed for the project are sourced locally where possible.
BloomHQ has, to date, proven to be a sustainable and socially impactful enterprise. Given the sheer scale of the site, mentioned in the county development plan, BloomHQ has the potential to grow to meet the growing demands of 3 key elements to economic development:
1) BloomHQ has signed an MOU with a number of key 3rd level institutions to provide access to Third Level education for the people of Laois without having to travel to other counties. In addition, collaborations with the innovative LOETB and the creation of community education programmes will create further employment potential.
2) BloomHQ established the Grow Remote Laois Chapter to promote remote working and tourism to the towns of Laois, including the towns connected with the Laois Hub Collective ( a collaboration with the other 5 coworking hubs in the county). The development of a remote working policy by Laois County Council will aid in attracting digital nomads to the county which will benefit the county economically, socially, and educationally.
3) Further development of community-based CoWorking enterprise hubs, as BloomHQ has shown, a community-based hub is a holistic, sustainable, and economically strategic way of attracting enterprise, job creation, innovation, and education to rural towns like Mountrath. Any profits generated from the hub are reinvested into the town and local businesses, thus creating a circular economy.
To enable our businesses to become carbon neutral and follow a 'greener' pathway to their business development, BloomHQ would welcome the installation of electrical car charging ports within the town of Mountrath.
Our health and fitness academy has become a center of excellence for Inclusive fitness as our trainers have completed all the necessary training to deliver sports for people with arthritis, in wheelchairs, with cerebral palsy, and more. We invested in the refurbishment of the basketball and tennis courts on-site and made them free to use by the whole community. We have seen an increased daily use of the facilities by community members. With further investment, such as better lighting, and retractable basketball/badminton equipment for wheelchair users, the health and fitness center in Mountrath would fulfill the County's development plan for a center of excellence for sports, especially for inclusive fitness.
The new way of working means that hubs like BloomHQ are a catalyst for not only community development but the economic redevelopment of rural towns as more people avoid the long commutes to the big cities. With space for over 40 hot desks, 7 state-of-the-art meeting and conference spaces, and a community network of clubs and sports facilities, more town committees are looking to the innovative BloomHQ project for inspiration.
With strategic economic development, BloomHQ has the potential to become a national showcase for community enterprise redevelopment and we welcome all support given to date by Laois County Council, Laois Partnership, and the Local Redevelopment funds.