THE developer behind The Island Quarter (TIQ) in Nottingham has partnered with domestic violence charity Juno Women’s Aid – to not only support it financially, but also use its expertise to create ‘female-friendly’ design across the 36-acre regeneration site.
Juno – the largest non-profit domestic abuse organisation in Nottingham and one of the largest in the UK – works with women, children and young people, offering a wide range of services and support to help people stay as safe as possible and find the strength to move on from domestic abuse.
TIQ’s developer, The Conygar Investment Company PLC has been working with Juno for two years, kicking off the relationship with a £10,000 donation in 2021 towards its pet fostering and helpline service.
Now Conygar is going a huge step further by making a long-term commitment to Juno. The partnership was announced in No More Week (5-12 March), the national and international campaign encouraging people to come together to raise awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence. Conygar used the significant week to carry out a workshop with Juno on ways the two organisations can work together.
Tom Huffsmith, project director at Conygar, said: “The workshop was about two things. Firstly, bringing together our supply chain partners working on TIQ to come up with ideas on how they can improve the way the development is built and created with safety in mind – and secondly, how they can bring Juno’s ideas and ethos into their own companies.
“We want all our supply chain partners to see and understand the impact of bringing new policies and new thought processes into the way they are as businesses – to encourage better understanding of issues around domestic violence, how to identify if their employees are experiencing, and how best to signpost services.”
The workshop included Nottingham-based CPMG Architects, Leonard Design Architects which is overseeing the site masterplan, designers Studio Egret West, creative and marketing agency Bridge F61, Cleaver & Wake, Binks Yard and PR and digital agency Cartwright Communications.
Tom added: “We had some great ideas in the workshop. Not only will these ideas benefit The Island Quarter, but this work is vital for the wider city and its inhabitants. We believe that this partnership could be transformative for Nottingham – and it could be the start of encouraging other developers to do similar with their own sites across the UK.
“We have big plans to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for Juno, helping to buy houses for those fleeing violent situations to move into. We are at the start of our journey with this amazing charity – and as part of this we want to create a ‘Juno-accredited framework’ for all the companies who are working with us during the construction phase and beyond.”
Fiona Bowman, consultant with Juno, was also at the workshop. Fiona herself escaped a violent 11-year marriage before moving from her native Scotland to London where she took up banking roles before then moving into facilities management.
She is now an independent corporate domestic abuse consultant helping senior management teams in organisations develop strategies for the support of employees who are victims and survivors.
“It’s truly fantastic that The Island Quarter is making this move – and making this huge difference,” she said. “I would like to see all development sites taking this stance in the future and this could be a UK leader in terms of the way it is looking at the way it does things.”
Yasmin Rehman, CEO of Juno Women’s Aid, said: “The Island Quarter development is shaping the future of Nottingham and for us to be a part of that is pivotal. Keeping people in our city safe is a common goal and we’re incredibly grateful and excited to be on this journey with the TIQ team to ensure the site is a safe space for all.”
For more information on Juno Women’s Aid or to donate, visit junowomensaid.org.uk.