Much has been spoken about Community Wealth Building (CWB) and the ‘Preston model’ – and rightly so. Many local authorities are adopting CWB.

Let’s start with Preston City Council, whose story is impressive. In 2013, the council developed a partnership with 12 large institutions anchored to Preston – including the county councils, university, police and the local hospital – seeking to redirect their total £1.2bn annual spend to local businesses and enterprises. The council is currently working with partners to establish a publicly-owned investment bank to support local small businesses and social enterprises, and support the creation of social enterprises to form a core sustainable part of the local economy.