Alice Plunkett is known to many of us through her role as a Racing Journalist, currently for ITV Racing and also out and about on the Eventing Circuit with her husband, William Fox-Pitt.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, when Alice spotted the potential to create a co-working space on the Hinton St Mary Estate, she was keen to ensure that the end result would be somewhere inspiring, as well as a community hub for her local Dorset working professionals.

The Hinton Workspace building was the old carpenters workshop for the Hinton St Mary estate. Originally built around 1880 it was a classic Victorian industrial design using wood from the farm for projects around the estate, but had lain derelict since the departure of the last tenant in 2015.

Alice’s renovation honoured the style of the original building and the result has a really cool office loft feel to it, peppered with touches like branded Cornishware workspace mugs (and a cookie jar) that make it a real home-from-home.

With a communal working space, private offices, meeting rooms and a kitchen on one of the floors, Hinton Workspace is already a buzzing hub of people dropping in for a few hours or a full day, meetings going on and the usual kitchen chat as people make their beverage of choice.

Emma chatted to Alice about the renovation project and her aims for the community, the changes she and her family have been going through over the past year following William’s retirement from 5* Eventing and how she fits it all in.

A great chat with a very inspiring lady who generously shared her thoughts and wisdom with us.

Thank you for listening and if you’re in the Hinton St Mary area, don’t forget to check out Hinton Workspace!