Northern Ireland learning centre secures its future with Bank of Ireland support

Aspace2, which provides services to support the needs of children, young adults and adults with a range of learning disabilities, autism and complex needs, has invested more than £800,000 in fitting out the premises to provide a range of multi-sensory spaces and a day opportunities centre.

The learning centre, which has been operating out of a 20,000 sq. ft unit at Campsie Industrial Estate since 2018, also offers a fully operational training café and restaurant on site which provides life skills, social inclusion opportunities and employability training for some of the 68 adults.

The purchase of the premises provides security for Aspace2 and the children, young adults and adults it supports, enabling them to focus on their growth and investment plans.

Martina Bell, founder, and managing director of Aspace2, explained: “Purchasing the premises is a key milestone for us and for the amazing young people and adults that we have the opportunity to meet and work with.

"We have spent the last five years investing in and creating the right spaces to meet their individual needs and have lots of plans for further investment. Our catering school and coffee shop provides important life and social inclusion opportunities as well as employability skills for our trainees and we’re so pleased with how the local community and other tenants in the industrial estate have welcomed and supported us.

“Danielle and the team at Bank of Ireland have been instrumental in enabling us to achieve our ambition of purchasing the premises. As well as providing the right financial support, they have taken the time to understand what we do and why we do it and they have worked closely with us to make our financial ambitions a reality.

“We are so pleased to have secured the finance to purchase the building which opens up new avenues for funding support to enable us to continue fitting out the space and expand the services we can offer.”

Danielle Whoriskey, senior business manager at Bank of Ireland UK, added: “We are delighted to work with Tina and the team at Aspace2 to help secure their future at Campsie. Aspace2 provides vital services to the adults and young people in their care and delivers wider benefits to the local community. Securing the premises enables the CIC to secure new opportunities as they continue to fit out and develop the services and supports they can offer to the young people and adults that need it most.”

Based at Campsie Industrial Estate, Aspace2 offers an on-site café, multi-sensory spaces, and day opportunities for 46 clients each day. The team has grown over recent years and now provides employment for 23 people who support the young people and adults in their care.