AMT Public

Stephanie Hryschko (left) and Alan Rowles from Kivo-Ebiz receive the National Market Town Awards winners’ plaque from AMT Chairman Catherine Hammant and Jon Arnold of the Press Association (right).

The winner of the prestigious 2008 National Market Town Awards is not a chocolate-box-pretty town, but two former pit villages near Sheffield. Kiveton Park & Wales scooped the award – beating seven other regional finalists – for an innovative project which uses e-bay to raise funds for community projects. They were named winners at the Action for Market Towns National Convention in Skipton on 1&2 October.

Kivo-Ebiz, a social enterprise established by the Kiveton Park & Wales Community Development Trust,sells items on e-bay on behalf of local people, with 20 per cent of the proceeds going to community projects. The enterprise is run entirely by volunteers. They also provide training in internet trading – increasing local skills and volunteer numbers.

Kiveton Park & Wales are two adjacent villages about ten miles South East of Sheffield. Until the mid 1990s the area had a large coal industry, but with the closure of the colliery came high unemployment and a general loss of community spirit. The Community Development Trust was set up with headquarters in the Old Colliery Offices to undertake a range of community projects. The real strength of the trust is the strong band of dedicated volunteers and Kivo-Ebiz is their latest project.

Residents contact Kivo-Ebiz to sell their unwanted items. 80 per cent of the sale price goes to the seller and 20 per cent is retained by Kivo-ebiz to cover running costs. Profit is gift-aided to the Community Development Trust. This has recycled hundreds of unwanted items and brought money into the local rural economy.

Volunteers also go out to the homes of people in the community. This is particularly important for hard-to-reach groups such as the elderly or disabled, who can also be offered help or advice on other matters.

The National Market Town Awards each year celebrate the great variety of volunteer-led projects which are helping to regenerate and sustain small towns throughout the country. The international news agency The Press Association, which has its big operations centre in the market town of Howden, East Yorkshire, are media partners for the awards. Jon Arnold, Northern Editor of The Press Association presented the award to Kivo-Ebiz.

Commenting on the award, Action for Market Towns Chief Executive Chris Wade said: “Not all small towns are pretty market towns in the centre of rolling countryside. Former pit towns or other industrial towns where the traditional industry has declined have a different range of economic and social problems. But as Kiveton Park & Wales show, engaging the community spirit and hard work of local volunteers can help transform the prospects for a town.”