Sshh… quiet community collaboration happening in Oswestry

There’s a new under-the-radar community business operating in Oswestry, supporting new business ideas, community projects and local charities. You might not have heard of Sparkroom, but you will probably know some of the local organisations they’ve been helping. Here’s just a few:

Siop Cwlwm – Lowri Roberts

Outgrowing their Oswestry indoor market stall, Siop Cwlwm have now moved their Welsh book and gift shop to new premises on Bailey Street. “Moving to the high street was such a big step for us and made so much easier with the support of Paul and Sparkroom. From financial planning to marketing, shop layout to finding temporary storage facilities, Sparkroom have filled so many gaps for us. From our larger space, we are now able to put on more events and activities, introduce more people to the Welsh language and to Oswestry’s rich borderland heritage.”

You can find Siop Cwlwm (‘Siop’ is Welsh for Shop, ‘Cwlwm’ means ‘Bond or knot’ symbolising togetherness) on Bailey Street near Fat Rabbit.

OsNosh CIC – Ben Wilson

Like many local charitable organisations, OsNosh has been pushed to the limit by the covid pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. Through their hard work, and with the help of the community they’ve supported and nurtured, OsNosh remains a lifeline for so many individuals and families in and around Oswestry. They’ve developed more educational opportunities for local residents, around growing food, essential cooking skills, and minimising food waste and cost. Ben said, “We are so grateful for the support from the community during these challenging times. Every week we have over 50 volunteers helping us turn surplus supermarket food into tasty meals at The Centre. We rely heavily on the generosity of many funders and donors, as well the tireless support of Paul and Ruth at Sparkroom. They’ve helped us secure new funding bids, and to connect with local organisations who have provided critical funds or resources to help us survive and grow. We couldn’t have done it without them.” Check out the OsNosh Facebook page for latest activities, events and opening times.

With Love From – Lizzie Dibble

With Love From is a new sustainable fashion concept to Oswestry, a community wardrobe for sharing treasured but rarely used occasionwear. Lizzie came to Paul and Ruth with a passion to do something to change the current ‘fast fashion’ mindset and a simple idea that could make a big difference to shopper behaviour.

“Ruth and Paul at Sparkroom are the reason we’ve made it this far. They helped us take an idea and make it into a reality, connecting us with local organisations, and allowing us to use their Sparkroom office as a base to launch from. Besides sharing their valuable business experience and skills, they’ve also been very hands-on. Recently they supported us in the organisation, set-up and hosting of a VIP pre-launch event at Openspace Studios. Sparkroom helped us bring over 50 guests together to sample our wardrobe offer, and this allowed us to test some of our ideas so we can launch our pop-up-shops through April and May.”

You can check out Lizzie’s website for more info: www.withlovefrom.org.uk.

Sparkroom’s creators are Paul Newman (better known as ‘Be a better fish’), Ruth Martin (of Martin and Jones Marketing) and Rick Adaway (photographer and creator!). They’ve recently added Jas and Dan to their team and are all based at their new offices above the Memorial Hall on Festival Square. We think we’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more from this gang of community-minded collaborators in the months ahead!

If you’d like to join them, or find out more, pop by the Sparkroom in the Memorial Hall for a warm welcome, or visit www.sparkroom.co.uk

Getting onto the property market is as hard as it’s ever been, so it’s no surprise that parents are often keen to help their children secure their first home.

The most common way of doing this is by making a contribution towards the deposit - usually quite a substantial one.

But what happens if your child gets divorced? Can you ensure that your financial contribution remains with your child rather than being divided between the divorcing couple?

Caroline Yorke, a family law specialist at Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors in Oswestry, says: “On many occasions we are faced with a situation where a client says their parent provided money to purchase the marital home and we have to deliver the bad news that, unless something was done at the time to protect that sum of money for the parent, it may well be regarded as having been a gift.

“As such, it will be absorbed into the marital assets and could be awarded in whole or in part to the other spouse.

“The basic position is that, within divorce proceedings, the court must take all the marital assets into account and divide them so as to produce a fair result for the couple, taking account of various factors such as the existence of children, each spouse’s financial needs and resources, their age, health and so on.

“Crucially, the law does not require the court to consider fairness to the parents who might have provided part of those assets. So if you are considering helping out your married child financially it is very sensible to take legal advice to ensure your circumstances are protected as far as possible.

“You could consider adding your name to the title deeds to reflect the funds you contributed, or if the money is regarded as a loan, should a formal loan agreement be drawn up setting out the repayment terms and interest?

“There are a number of options, all of which will have important ramifications, such as tax and inheritance, and you should take legal advice in good time before providing the funds.”