David Cameron Launches 'Big Society' at Hope

Prime Minister David Cameron chose Liverpool Hope University's Creative Campus to launch the Government's "Big Society" project on Monday, a scheme aiming to involve more social enterprises, charities and community groups in providing local services.

Mr Cameron was greeted by Campus Provost Professor Bill Chambers before addressing an audience of community leaders, politicians and journalists in The Cornerstone's Great Hall. He then gave TV interviews in the new Angel Field garden.

The "Big Society" idea was a central plank of Conservative election strategy and the new coalition government declared last month that it wanted an increase in community work and social enterprise to be one of its "great legacies". 

The choice of The Creative Campus as venue for the launch reflected the contribution made by the University, through Urban Hope, in the fields of widening access, regeneration and enterprise. A number of key regeneration initiatives have been managed by Urban Hope, harnessing in excess of £30m of capital investment to help develop social enterprise in the city.

The Creative Campus is widely regarded as an example of inner-city regeneration at its best  with outstanding new education facilities and a stunning garden environment brought to one of the poorest wards in the country.