Hello everyone,

It’s warm! Imagine working in a bakery …

This week we are looking forward to a Loaf pop-up at The Shed in Cotterdige Park on the coming Sunday 31st May!

Wednesday till Saturday we will be again with Anosh at Deadbeat. If you can, please use our online shop for pre-orders to help us getting the baking numbers right! Ta!

Loaf pop-up at The Shed in

Cotteridge Park next Sunday!

Next Sunday 31st May we will be bringing our bread, sweet and savoury buns plus cake to The Shed in Cotteridge Park.

The Shed is not only a cafe just up the road in Cotteridge, it is another community gem staffed mainly by volunteers. The people from Cotteridge Park and Loaf have a longstanding relationship (strengthened by us occasionally dropping off sweet buns and cakes …) and they kindly offered us a place for a stall, which we gratefully accepted.

They run many different regular activities and additional events throughout the year, including the fast approaching CocoMad Festival, which will take place this year on the 4th of July (and you might even spot one of the Loaf members performing with their band on the stage …). All events they run are for free, but donations are very welcome!

For those who haven’t been to The Shed yet or met the lovely people behind it, please watch this video where they show and explain themselves what and why they are doing what they are doing. There is even a poem about The Shed by Mr Blue included, who you might know now as the Brummie poet Bradley Taylor.

The Shed will be open as usual (from 10ish) and we will be popping up there between 11:30am and 3pm - so come and say hi and enjoy the sunshine with a cardamom bun and get some freshly baked bread to start your next week rightFirs!

Another SCD Update

First a little recap: In March, GreenSquareAccord informed Stirchley Co-operative Development (SCD) that, after a year of delays, they would be raising the purchase price of the development from £10.68 million to £12.57 million. Over the following months, SCD members worked hard to secure additional funding from Birmingham City Council, Co-operatives, and Social investors to finalise a deal. All on top of also launching the community plan for the McDonalds’ site to reaffirm the commitment to a community-owned high street.

On last Friday, one week from our last known ‘move-in date’, SCD received further news that they are now considering raising the price by an additional £369,000. This brings the total to £12.94m, significantly above the valuation and an additional cost the community refuses to absorb. You can read SCD’s latest press release in full here.

Despite these challenges, we remain confident that with the right amount of pressure and community support, we can see this project through. This project has always been about community power. Now more than ever, we need our community to show up and stand with us to make sure this project is a community asset forever owned by the people who live and work in Stirchley.

Here are three things you can do right now:

1. Invest in SCD (or send this to someone who can)

   We are seeking bond investment from supporters who share our values - see the SCD Bond Offer here

2. Get the word out

   Please write to your MP (contact for Stirchley MP Al Carns - al.carns.mp@parliament.uk, 075 9453 0309) and the Housing Ministers Steve Reed and Matthew Pennycook to tell them why you think supporting Stirchley Co-operative Development is important. Together we can strengthen the case for genuinely affordable, community-led housing and help protect and grow more projects like SCD in the future.

3. Support SCD members via the Solidarity Fund

Said that …why not join SCD as a housing member?

In recent months the project has gone through considerable changes and challenges. A small number of one-bedroom flats are becoming available and open for applications, offering a chance to join our community-focused, affordable housing co-op in Stirchley at this crucial moment in its development.

This is a growing community rooted in cooperation, care and shared purpose, and we’re excited to welcome new people who want to be part of that journey. If you’re seeking a home that brings together housing with community values and local resilience, we warmly invite you to apply and join our SCD family.

There is still just explained uncertainty around the future of the building, including the outcome of the sale process, and in some scenarios GreenSquareAccord may resume tenancy. We are working actively to resolve this and continue building momentum for a long-term community-led solution.

As we are aiming for a relatively quick move-in process, please consider your ability to plan and move within a short time frame. If the timing does not quite work for you right now, we still encourage applications, as future opportunities may become available even if immediate flat allocation is not possible.

If you have any questions, please email membership@stirchley.coop

Visit the website for more information and application requirements. You can find the application form here.

Applications close at 23:59 on Saturday, 30 May

Opening Times for Next Week: _{^{(@ 1473-1475 Pershore Road, Birmingham B30 2NT)}}

🟢 Wednesday 27th May 12-3pm

🟢 Thursday 28th May 12-3pm

🟢 Friday 29th May 12-3pm

🟢 Saturday 30th May 11am-3pm

🟢 Sunday 31st May 11:30 - 3pm - The Shed Pop Up in Cotteridge Park!

Lunch Menu for Next Week:

Wednesday:

🔸 Tarka Daal w/ Sourdough (Ve)

Thursday:

🔸Sandwich: TBA

Friday:

🔸 Sandwich: TBA

If you would like us to save you a lunch please send an email to info@loaf.coop until 11am on the day before!

Pre-order Info

➡️ Click HERE to pre-order bread and buns for Wednesday till Saturday. If you don’t want to pre-order that’s alright, we always have more to sell, but we try not to let anything go to waste, so pre-orders are very helpful.

➡️ Cut-off time for all pre-orders is 11am on the day before pick up!

Thanks so much to STEAMHOUSE for their continued support in letting us use a corner of their bakery in Redditch - we honestly do not know what we would have done without their generosity.

💛 💛 💛

Thanks & see you soon!

Team Loaf

Dorit, Molly, Michael, Kate, Fliss, Neil, Mina, Rach, Pete & Dave

👉 Support the crowdfunder here

Website: loaf.coop

Updates on: Instagram

Review us on: Google | Tripadvisor