Our Story
FireFly is the newest private hire and community space in Telford but maybe you would like to know more about the flames from which FireFly rose.
2020 might be the year FireFly launched its self in to the public domain, and in the middle of a world wide pandemic of all things… but the story began a long time before this!
Local community zoo founder Scott Adams is usually better known for his work with hard to reach and vulnerable members of the community at Exotic Zoo in Priorslee in Telford, specialising in animal assisted therapy, interventions and community education or welcoming families to the low cost community attraction. Or maybe even seeing him on his regular spot on the BBC’s family favourite Blue Peter as their resident animal expert.
Starting a non profit community interest company many years ago initially to run education and therapy work, the company success soon saw the zoo move to a bigger site and open a public zoo in 2017. The public zoo followed in the footsteps of the already established community work and continued the education and therapy on the new site with the addition of an extremely low cost entry to the new zoo, making it accessible to all members of the community no mater what their background.
The zoo soon become a tourist hotspot bringing tourism into the area and becoming Trip Advisors No1 attraction in Telford, a spot it still holds to this day!
The success of the company and the new zoo saw them win the prestigious Telford 50 business award ahead of all companies that have graced Telford with their presence over the last 50 years! This started as a public vote and ended with the votes of their peers and respected members of the local council, showing the community zoo had found their way into the hearts of the people of Telford.
So where did opening the venue FireFly come from?
Scott’s original career was in the music industry, so music, entertainment, promotions and production was very much still in his heart. The venue that has now become FireFly had welcomed Scott to its stage in the past and he also hired the space for some special occasions throughout his life. So he knew the venue well and it held special memories for him.
Since then though the venue had opened as a night club that was a troubled hotspot regularly making news paper headlines for all the wrong reasons. The venue’s previous incarnation as a nightclub had a negative impact on the local community, due to issues around anti-social behaviour. Since it last closed its doors and came on the market, locals, the council and police were keen not to see it reopen as a nightclub and repeat history.
Because of his affinity with the venue, his background in entertainment, and his feet strongly fixed in creating community assets that benefit not just the area but the people of Telford, a series of events fell perfectly into place that led to Scott taking on the project.
After lots of hard work including some work with the council, plans emerged to make the space a community venue for the area to be proud and not ashamed of. Over the last 18 months, a full refurb inside and out has now given the whole high street and new and vibrant look. The facade improvement was part of the ‘Pride In Our High Street’ project and has made a big difference to the 200 year old building.
The End result… FireFly! A private hire venue and a community space to support local causes.
The Vision???
In the evenings and weekends FireFly will a beautiful high end venue for the people of Telford to hire for their special occasions, to celebrate with family and friends. A place to see loved ones and make memories that will last forever, making FireFly the beating heart of the community.
Then week nights and days, FireFly will lend itself as a community venue that will enhance the lives of local hard to reach and vulnerable members of the community and supporting groups.
This part of FireFly is really exciting and we look forward to see how this progresses and the people we will meet along the way.
This is only the beginning but with a big heart we hope FireFly will have everyone talking for the right reasons
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