The main objective of Zest is to increase the economic prosperity of the people and businesses in the Netherthorpe, Upperthorpe and Langsett areas. We have a Local Economic Development Strategy with five key aims being:

• to promote awareness of, and access to, appropriate service provision
• to create a culture of participation and progression
• to raise skills levels
• to provide access to employment
• to promote enterprise, including social enterprise
  

Zest is a company limited by guarantee and a charity, which is run and managed by the local community. The Trustees are elected on a rotating basis at the Annual General Meeting. Six trustees are local residents and three trustees are "stakeholders" who can contribute particular skills and expertise.
As a community-led development trust, the involvement and participation of local people is essential and we hold many events, workshops and activities as well as specific projects.

Zest is based in Upperthorpe and currently employs around 60 Staff with an annual turnover of £2 million.   Our current services include the innovative Zest Centre; the One Stop Shop for Employment; Training and Enterprise and Zest for Children and Young People.   In addition Zest is the lead body for Sheffield’s third sector youth consortium and has a Director of Sheffield’s Wellbeing Consortium. 

The company acquired accountable body status in January 2001 and was one of the first community-led accountable bodies in the country, successfully managing a £15 million regeneration programme.

Zest also has a successful trading arm, NUCA Consultancy Limited (NCL), which delivers consultancy services. 

From 1 July 2007 Zest took over operational management of the Zest Centre, formerly known as Upperthorpe Healthy Living Centre. The centre comprises of three refurbished and linked Victorian buildings.

The Zest Centre is a vibrant community-led project for the long-term holistic health improvement of local people ensuring social inclusion, reducing health inequalities, and increasing local people's use of health, education, leisure and recreational facilities. Complementing local, city-wide and national health and social strategies the Zest Centre builds on the strengths of the local community and facilitates local, social and cultural change by widening people's horizons.

Inside the centre you will find a swimming pool, gym, fitness classes, health improvement schemes, advice services, a public library, a café  and a number of other services.

Netherthorpe & Upperthorpe Community Alliance (NUCA) was established in 1997 as a community forum and in 1999 was in a position to apply for and then deliver an SRB 6 scheme worth £15 million.  NUCA was accountable body for the scheme.  Based on extensive consultation and evidence bases, the focus of the programme was to add value to the SRB1 programme's capital investment by investing in people.  The programme addressed priorities around community capacity, social inclusions, employment and training, community safety and health.  This programme ended in 2006 and received an excellent external evaluation by Atkins Global.   

This area based regeneration programme made a substantial impact on the renewal of the area - key changes being:

• The good level of community capacity evidenced by the continued development and success of Zest.
• The establishment and continuation of a number of successful projects including the Upperthorpe Healthy Living Centre, One Stop Shop, Youth services and improvements to the public realm.

In 2008 NUCA adopted a new trading name of 'Zest' to reflect its increasing role in the delivery of public services.   In 2007 Upperthorpe Healthy Living Centre Trust  transferred full operational management of its centre to Zest.   Zest is currently funded by Yorkshire Forward Single Pot funding through Sheffield City Council for its core activities, although the majority of Zest’s income comes from contracts and generated income.
Zest is recognised as a key community anchor organisation and is held up as an example of best practice in its field.   While Zest’s focus is on the local areas it also works at a city wide level particularly in its role as lead body for the Sheffield Youth Consortium. 

The demographic profile of the area has and continues to change substantially and there remains significant deprivation. Local residents are more likely to have low skills levels, higher levels of economic inactivity, low levels of business start ups and to experience a range of health related, social and other barriers which impact on their levels of economic activity and prosperity. For these reasons a Local Economic Strategy has been
developed which will form the key local strategy from 2006 to 2011.
  

Zest is managed by a board of trustees/directors who are elected on a rotating basis at the Annual General Meeting. They are elected annually by our member groups. The board has six resident trustees and three stakeholders.  In addition up to three other trustees may be co-opted onto the board.

At present there are seven committee members:

• Abdulrhamah Abdulrub (Chair),
• Edna Iggo,
• Martin Kilner,
• Gina McLennan,
• Dave Thornett
• Rob Young
• Jack Dunn

Our next Annual General Meeting will be held in March 2009.

Most of the committee members are members of the local community and have a clear vision of what the local community require. The committee members and the Zest managers regularly meet to discuss the progress of Zest and what improvements need to be made in order to reflect the views of the local community.