Residents across Barnet will be able to pick up good quality furniture at affordable prices after social landlord Barnet Homes received confirmation of funding for the borough’s first furniture reuse scheme.
The scheme – called the Barnet Furniture Centre – will give people the opportunity to donate good quality furniture they no longer want or need. A team of staff and volunteers will then prepare the pieces of furniture for sale at a new warehouse at 4 Queens Parade, Friern Barnet.
Organisers hope this will divert tonnes of furniture away from landfill and ensure items are reused or recycled instead, supporting Barnet Council’s waste prevention efforts.
The centre – due to open around the beginning of March 2011 – will also be able to receive donations of white goods, such as fridges and cookers, and other electrical items, such as hi-fis and computers. Staff will be working with other social enterprises in north London to repair and refurbish these items and keep them in use.
The scheme is particularly aimed at helping families who may be struggling financially due to the economic downturn, including tenants and leaseholders in the 15,000 council properties managed by Barnet Homes.
The centre will be setting up a dedicated phone number for people who wish to donate items. In the meantime, residents can call Barnet Homes’ Freephone number on 0800 3895225 or emailbeth.swallow@barnethomes.org.
Run by a charity set up by Barnet Homes but entirely separate from it, the Barnet Reuse Centre will also enable the creation of three full-time jobs and more than 20 volunteer placements. This will include opportunities for people with special needs and offering people the chance to develop new skills and potentially help them into employment.
The project has been made possible through more than £200,000 funding from the London Waste and Recycling Board, along with funding from the Future Jobs fund and the Milly Apthorp Trust, and is being supported by the new London Reuse Network. It is part of a £8million package of funding into reuse and recycling initiatives being overseen by the London Reuse Network across the capital.
Barnet Homes Chief Executive, Tracey Lees, said: “We’re delighted to have received confirmation of the final portion of the funding we need to establish this project.
“This all came about after some of our staff raised the issue of families having difficulty buying decent furniture at an affordable price, and the sheer amount of good quality furniture that was simply being thrown away.
“The Barnet Furniture Centre will help thousands of families at a time of economic hardship. It will also benefit the environment by reducing the amount of material going to landfill, and the local community by offering job and volunteering opportunities.
“We’re looking forward to working with the new charity overseeing the project, and to watching this scheme develop over the coming years.”
Cllr Richard Cornelius, Barnet Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Regeneration, added: “This excellent scheme will provide a helping hand to families in need. It’s really good when useful furniture that would otherwise be thrown away can continue in use.”