New co-working space coming to Chelmsford City Centre

The pandemic has changed the way plenty of people work. Chelmsford has always been a popular commuting location for those working in London, but now many have found themselves with new working patterns. Hybrid-working, working from home… and now working near home are options to consider.

Work Near Home

Opening in Chelmsford in November is a brand new co-working space for businesses and individuals. Patch is bringing its Work Near Home model to Grays Yard in Chelmsford City Centre – formerly a Victorian brewery – next to Nandos and Zizzi.

The new vibrant work space run by Patch will offer a range working environments to its members – from private offices to co-working studios, accessible low-cost options and free scholarship places. It’s a space for people to work, connect and support local enterprise.

The idea is that people can spend less time commuting and more time working and socialising in their local community. This will enable people to spend more time with their friends and family whilst still investing in the local economy.

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“The introduction of a new co-working space in Grays Yard is a really positive scheme for the city. Providing local options for residents to work from will help them to have less of a commute which will hopefully allow a better work/life balance. Working closer to home brings many benefits for both individuals and their families, but also for the environment and the local economy. I look forward to seeing what interesting people and businesses make use of the newly available space and help enhance Chelmsford’s business scene.”

Chelmsford City Councillor Simon Goldman, Deputy Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Small Business and representative for the BID board

On what he hopes this will mean for communities, Patch’s Founder Freddie Fforde commented:

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“Where we work and where we live have traditionally be seen as distinct environments. This has led to the hollowing out of many high streets during the working week, and equally redundant office districts. We think that technology fundamentally changes this, allowing people to work near home and creating a new mixed environment of professional, civic and cultural exchange.

“We hope that Patch can act as a cornerstone for opportunity to find talented people based on who they are, not where they live.”

Freddie Fforde, Patch Founder

Patch also operates a model of giving back, with 20% of peak event space hours donated to local and national providers of community services that support the common good. Early national partners include tech skills providers Code First Girls, and with Coder Dojo, a Raspberry Pi Foundation initiative.

Commuters and communities interested in finding out more can visit www.patch.work.