Draperstown Social Enterprise marks 40 years of transforming fortunes

An award-winning social enterprise in south Derry set up to tackle record levels of unemployment and deprivation during the height of the Troubles in the 1980s, has said significant social and economic challenges remain for rural communities across the North.

Workspace Draperstown Ltd which was crowned UK Social Enterprise of Year 2024, has urged people to respond to an ongoing Department for the Economy consultation, which will help shape the definition of a social enterprise in Northern Ireland.

Workspace has been credited with helping to reduce the local unemployment rate from a staggering 30 per-cent when it was set up in 1985, to the current record low levels of around two per-cent. Throughout its 40-year history, the social enterprise has helped establish hundreds of businesses and delivered skills training to thousands of people in the Mid Ulster area and across the North.

However, despite the major successes of the past four decades which has transformed the fortunes of Draperstown and surrounding area, the Chairman of Workspace, Laurence O’Kane said there are people and young families still struggling with a range of social and economic problems.

“When Workspace was set up back in 1985, I don’t think anyone could have foreseen the huge changes and the progress that have been made here in a rural place like Draperstown and the wider Ballinascreen parish,” said Mr O’Kane.

“This is now a prosperous place; we have great facilities for our young people, for the schools and for the community; we have some really strong businesses which are providing hundreds of jobs. From a time when we had serious emigration, we now have people coming to live and work here, which is fantastic.

“But there is still a big need for a social enterprise like Workspace and similar organisations across the North.

“At a local level, we have seen the alarming rise in cases of poor mental health, there are still concerns over isolation and of course our health service. We have set up a foodbank which is helping families who are struggling, sometimes both partners may have jobs but can’t make ends meet. From an economic point of view, Draperstown has seen quite a few traders close over recent years due to online shopping, and this has left a lot of empty buildings in the town.”

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Mr O’Kane, who was speaking at the launch of the book ‘Born out of necessity’ which documents the 40-year history of Workspace, added: “These are all problems which Workspace is proactively working to address in partnership with partner agencies and some excellent local charities like STEPS Mental Health.”

Currently Workspace provide funding or free accommodation for the STEPS Mental Health charity, Ballinascreen Men’s Shed, Glasgowbury Music Group and Ballinascreen Historical Society. They also host a weekly Warm Welcome Wednesday session at their Community Hub facility.

Over the course of its colourful 40-year history, Workspace has developed and delivered a huge range of major projects.

As well as the business units for new start-ups, they have helped hundreds of fledgling businesses get up and running; provided training for thousands of people, helping them to gain employment.

They set up a recruitment agency, an after-schools club, a home insulation company, an events company, a consultancy firm and a local radio station. They built factories and a youth club, developed an industrial park, renovated listed buildings, planted trees, and in 2014 they were invited for drinks with Prime Minister David Cameron in Downing Street as the first winners from Northern Ireland of the Big Society Award.

Georgina Grieve who is the Chief Executive of Workspace said their focus was very much on the future and ‘delivery to the community’.

“Our focus is always looking forward and we know that there are many things that we need to do. We are blessed in Draperstown with great volunteers and groups who are making such a positive impact on people’s lives and as a social enterprise we are determined to provide all the support to them that we can,” she said.

“When Workspace started out, it was very much about getting businesses up and running, and it is still a core part of our work, but in 2025, we are much more community-focused and we have seen what can be achieved when we work together, whether it’s with local groups and clubs, the local council or with the Stormont government.”

In 2023-2024 (the most recent available figures) it was calculated by the Social Value Engine platform, that for every £1 invested in Workspace, £4.09 of social and economic was returned.

The Department for the Economy consultation on social enterprise runs until Tuesday, December 23 and can be accessed online at https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/consultations/.