Ensuring our assets enhance the communities in which they are located through tenant and community engagement is one of three key pillars of our Sustainability Strategy. At our larger sites which have Centre Managers, we actively empower and encourage our site teams to engage positively with the local communities in which the assets are based.
In the Q&A article below we interview one of our Centre Administrators, Sarah Adams, from our Chineham Shopping site in Basingstoke. Sarah and the team at Chineham have helped to develop a community-focused centre, with strong links to local stakeholders and occupiers. We are pleased to be able to put a spotlight on Sarah’s community leadership and the positive local impact being created at Chineham.
What is your role?
I am the Centre Administrator and have recently stepped up to cover the Centre Manager role whilst he is on paternity leave. My day-to-day role is varied, including health and safety compliance, liaising with occupiers, overseeing maintenance on site, raising purchase orders, approving invoices, monitoring and reporting on the budget, answering queries and working on projects.
What is your favourite part of your job?
I love people; interacting with occupiers, customers, our onsite cleaning team, contractors and other stakeholders is my favourite part. Seeing happy customers and occupiers thriving is so rewarding. We have a very small team on site, so the role is incredibly varied – from reviewing CCTV to working with the Client on large scale projects. You never know what challenges a day will bring, and I love coming up with solutions to resolve issues and make improvements.
How does you and your team interact with and support the Centre’s occupiers?
I think it is vital to be ‘visible’ on site and see occupiers often. I am there for them. whatever they need, whether that is a friendly face and a chat after a challenging morning or to discuss/share improvements to their business. I produce a monthly occupier newsletter and communicate regularly with them – this is key in building strong relationships. We have one-to-one meetings with occupiers and our local PC and will be looking to involve the occupiers in wider volunteering opportunities this year to support the local community.
In what ways does your work impact the local community?
Chineham Shopping Centre is a community-focused outdoor shopping centre. The library is at the forefront and runs various activities for the local community appealing to every age group. We also liaise closely with Tesco’s Community Champion to support in various projects – for example, we have just worked up stunning Easter Egg Appeal creative to help drive awareness of the project and will be donating the first 50 eggs to kick start the appeal. This year we are also installing a permanent ‘Chatter’ bench to help combat loneliness in the local community. We welcome charity activity on-site and engage regularly with the many local schools here in Chineham.
What environmental and social impact activities do you have planned for 2025?
A biodiversity appraisal for the site was conducted last year and we are working on a project to enhance the biodiversity on site this year. We are organising a volunteering day for The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) to help support our work here at Chineham. This year’s focus will be to increase our recycling through a new waste management system, which follows key projects completed last year, including the replacement of all our external lighting to LED & the installation of our EV Chargers.
Sustainability is also a key focus for us, and we were delighted to win our first Green Apple Award last year for our environmentally themed Summer Garden, where we encouraged local families to make insect houses and learn about local wildlife.
