Second voluntary sector hub for Portsmouth opens its doors

A much-anticipated new voluntary sector hub has opened in Paulsgrove to enable local charities and those in the voluntary sector to meet clients, work collaboratively and grow their organisation.

HIVE Portsmouth has officially opened the doors to HIVE Portsmouth North Hub, the second of its kind in the city.

A launch event, held this afternoon, saw people gather from across Portsmouth to celebrate the start of the new chapter, including Lord Mayor Jason Fazackarley, Managing Director of BAE Systems Maritime Services Scott Jamieson and representatives from the voluntary sector.

The hub, in Paulsgrove Housing Office, Allaway Avenue, was created thanks to funding from BAE Systems, which made a £250,000 donation to HIVE Portsmouth to help set up the two facilities. 

The newly-opened space offers coworking, virtual office space, dedicated desk space and formal and informal meeting rooms for voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in the city.

Its sister site, located in the city centre, was launched in June 2023 and supports those working in the voluntary sector across the city to provide essential services to the people of Portsmouth.

Those who sign up to be a member of the HIVE Portsmouth Hubs are able to enjoy the benefits of both sites, and are able to access a range of in-house business services and mentoring to further support their organisation.

The hubs help provide greater resilience within the local voluntary sector and offer valuable support to organisations serving local people.

Portsmouth Mediation Service is among the groups using the hubs. The group, which offers mediation services to families, organisations, schools and businesses, currently use the city centre hub for hot desking, as a virtual office and use the meeting room for training.

The group also plans to use the newly-opened North hub to meet with clients. Service Manager Steve Rolls said:

“For us, it’s the missing piece of the jigsaw. Using the Hub has made us more visible and enabled networking opportunities with others working in the VCSE sector."

Revd Canon Bob White, Chair of HIVE Portsmouth Trustees said:

“We know that there is a real need for a facility such as this in the North of the city. The HIVE Portsmouth North Hub is a place people can go to share ideas, make connections, support clients face-to-face and grow their organisation.

“We’re very lucky to have such passionate and committed people in the sector within Portsmouth, and we’re proud to be able to support in this way. The opening of HIVE Portsmouth North Hub is a great step forward for the sector and I’m delighted that the doors are now open.

“We’re very grateful to BAE Systems who have made all of this possible, and to the many people who’ve supported us to get HIVE Portsmouth North Hub up and running, including Qcurb Build, Fizzy Print Ltd, Wessex Community Bank, Incuhive, Paulsgrove Housing Office, Portsmouth City Council, Cascades, Southsea Castle and Finger Print Studios.”

Scott Jamieson, Managing Director of BAE Systems’ Maritime Services, commented:

“HIVE Portsmouth continues to provide an outstanding service to the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Portsmouth and I am really pleased that we have been able to support the opening of a second hub in the city.”

To find out more about HIVE Portsmouth Hub and how to get involved, visit www.hiveportsmouthhub.org.uk.