FoNDT Newsletter 16/10/2012

C O N T E N T S :

HRH Prince of Wales

visits Amble

(Amble Development

Trust)

Berwick Community

Trust Project Update

2

3

“Queen Elizabeth 11

Fields in Trust”

(Bedlingtonshire

Development Trust)

What else has been

happening in

Bedlington?

(Bedlingtonshire DT)

4

5

HOD’s (Heritage

Open Days) 2012

(Greater Morpeth

Development Trust)

6

The Wooler Wheel

(Glendale Gateway

Trust)

Local Community to

benefit from National

Campaign

(Ashington Community

DT)

7

7

Notices and

Advertisements

8

FoNDT Newsletter I S S U E 1 9 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

Foreword By The Chair

David Lodge

Following a summer which was a non event and brought more challenges to

communities with flooding returning to rural locations such as Morpeth and a

downturn in visitors and levels of trade across Northumberland. The local

challenges are an echo of what is happening worldwide and with global reces-

sion continuing into the foreseeable future there has never been a better time to

take stock and refocus the direction we are all heading.

Sustainability has been the key word for a number of years now and some of

the members are more advanced than others but with increased focus on Social

Enterprise development income generation has to be a key issue going for-

ward.

With this in mind there are a number of events that we should be supporting :

15th November - Social Enterprise Day @ Lynemouth

5th December – Rearranged FoNDT meeting where we are looking to en-

courage officers and Board members to come along to an externally facilitated

strategy day @ Stannington.

Mid January 2013 – FoNDT conference

Your support of these events is critical in the continued development and capacity of the FoNDT membership and support network in these challenging times

Seahouses Development Trust

Lights, Camera, Community Action.

Seahouses Development Trust is set to develop a community cinema enterprise within the

Sports & Community Centre in Stone Close.

The project is in response to local desire for more entertainment on our door-step and wet

weather alternatives for recreation and has been made possible with start-up funding from the

Big Lottery Village fund. The enterprise will be sustainable through the sales of tickets, mem-

bership and other concessions, as well as helping our local tourism industry.

Maureen Bramley, Chairperson of the Development Trust, said, “We are delighted that we have

been successful in our funding bid from the Big Lottery Fund’s Village S.O.S. programme. With

this money we’ll be able to show films at the local Sports & Community Centre, and hire out the

equipment

to other communities as well. This will open up new leisure opportunities for people of all ages

without having to travel great distances.” The grant also enables the Trust to offer employment for a cinema project co-ordinator to take this exciting project forward before Christmas. 2012.

Ciara Von Vogt - Seahouses DT

FoNDT Newsletter 16/10/2012

Amble Development Trust

What a summer it has been. From the torrential rain that accompanied the Olympic torch through Am-ble to our most recent visitors, a contingent of Chinese officials. In my last report I informed everyone of the strategic document we were in the process of writing: Amble 2020. This is now complete and will be launched on Wednesday October 24th. Speakers on the day will include Steve Stewart CE NCC, Ed Twiddy Chair NELEP, Steve Scoffin DB Partnership, An-gela Manktelow NCC Youth Services, Lee Pugalis Northumbria Uni, Peter MacIntyre Managing Director ARCH amongst others. We are currently in the process of sending out invitations We continue with community workshops to develop a plan for the former Northumberland Foods site, with focus remaining on food and drink. The contract to demolish the factory which was due to begin earlier this year is currently being renegotiated due to unforeseen circumstances. Negotiations are ongoing with Persimmon regarding their development site and provision of affordable housing. All of these form part of the delivery of Amble 2020 The reason for the visit by Chinese officials. Prof John Shutt (tenant within FW2) has been working with College of Business Administration within Zhejaing University of Technology on behalf of the British Government and Leeds University. The contract involves building business links with China. Madame Cheng, a Provincial Minister, is in Britain launching a book she has written and visiting Edinburgh and Oxford where the book signing will take place. John persuaded Madame Cheng and associates to take a whistlestop tour of Northumberland. I can report they were very impressed and say they will be look-ing at ways to bring investors to our shores. I would envisage it being a very long process – but nothing ventured! However, our grand finale for the summer would have to be the visit of HRH Prince Charles to the county and town. While the intensity of organsing the event and the constantly changing plans could have made the whole event fraught with anxiety, the Prince himself was happy and relaxed, putting everyone he met at ease. We were asked to show HRH around Pride of Northumbria to discuss the purpose of the shop and to meet staff and volunteers. His visit overran, much to the chagrin of his aides but HRH was not to be hurried!

Julia Aston, Amble Development Trust

P A G E 2

HRH Prince of Wales looks around Pride of Northumbria

FoNDT Newsletter 16/10/2012

P A G E 3

Berwick Community Trust

Berwick PV project

Solar pV panels have now been erected on seven sites in the Berwick area including Berwick Academy and the Swan

Sports Centre as a result of a collaboration with Northumberland County Council.

The panels have been erected and financed through a joint initiative of NCC and Berwick Community Solar En-

ergy (BCSE) which is a subsidiary of Berwick Community Trust. The panels were purchased from a grant from the

Department of Climate Change’s Low Carbon Communities Challenge. The county council has loaned BCSE the

monies necessary to finance the installations and this will be paid back from the generation feed in tariff income

over the lifetime of the installations. The schools and sports centre will receive free electricity and relevant Parent

Teacher Associations will receive a small income from the export component of the feed in tariff. The Community

Trust will receive a very small income once installation costs have been paid off.

A number of panels remain unused and the Trust is now exploring opportunities to install them on community

buildings and two further schools in the Berwick area. The installations are accompanied by an education pro-

gramme delivered by NCC staff and will form part of the Trust’s project to facilitate the development of a Low

Carbon Strategy for the town. This strategy development work is part funded by NCC and a grant from the LEAF

fund at Community Foundation.

Childcare provision continues to grow

The Trust has recently taken on two new apprentices to work in the Surestart Childrens’ Centres in Alnwick and

Hadston. The partnership with Surestart already sees the Trust employ a number of Childcare Workers in Berwick

and Wooler who deliver quality childcare under the line management of the County Council’s Surestart team. The

two new apprentices, the Trust’s first, will undertake a programme of workplace and college learning supported by

Northumberland Adult Learning Service while also playing a full part as members of the Childrens Centre staff. In

Alnwick Nicola will pursue a Level 2 qualification over 12 to 15 months while in Hadston Laura will pursue a

Level 3 qualification over 15 to 18 months. It is hoped that both apprentices will secure full time employment in

the Children’s Centres once they have completed their qualifications.

The apprenticeships have been arranged in conjunction with Northumberland Adult Learning Service who under-

took all aspects of the recruitment process except actual interviewing. This support was hugely useful although did

represent a significant departure from the Trust’s normal working procedures and took some getting used to. We do

however now have two very capable individuals in post without having incurred any costs in relation to advertis-

ing, CRB checks or training. We also expect to receive £1,500 in grant per apprentice which will be used to offset

wage costs. Further details of NALS and their support of apprenticeships can be found at the NCC website.

Julien Lake, Berwick Community Trust

FoNDT Newsletter 16/10/2012

P A G E 4

Bedlingtonshire Development Trust

Malcolm Robinson — Bedlingtonshire Development Trust

Bedlingtonshire Development Trust, working with Northumberland County Council has been able to attain

“Queen Elizabeth 11 Fields in Trust” status for Gallagher Park.

The last time Parks were given this prestige designation was when George V was on the throne!

“The recently awarded plaque will be mounted at the main entrance to the Park.’

At Fields in Trust we think parks, sports fields, playgrounds, bicycle trails and nature reserves are the heart of the

local community. Love Your Field is a great way to show your appreciation for your favourite QEII Field and put

it in the running to win Most Loved Field at the Fields in Trust Awards Ceremony on 29th November at Lord’s

Cricket Ground.

Go online from 21 September – 19 October and click to Love Your Field to give your favourite space a chance to

win. Simply search for your field and click the "Love your Field" button. You can also see the number of people

who have Loved your favourite QEII field.

Vote here…

Bedlingtonshire Development Trust work with FoGP (Friends of Gallagher Park), in their efforts to enhance this

Park area which is central to Bedlington. We recently put them forward for a “Love Northumberland” award and

they got a ‘highly recommended’ second place. We help them fundraise and generally raise the profile of this

underused and underdeveloped Park. The latest event in the Park was the

Sustrans Coast to Coast opening ceremony. We were part of the group which

organised the event.

This Park area could play a significant role in the growth and development of our

Trust as Northumberland CC begins to prioritise their parks and open

spaces……….

FoNDT Newsletter 16/10/2012

P A G E 5 Bedlingtonshire Development Trust (Continued)

Bedlingtonshire Development Trust helped Leading Link deliver their “Big

Event” in June and managed to slightly change the focus from the Queen’s

Diamond Jubilee to include “60 years in Bedlington”. Radio 4 heard about our

heritage aspect and came up to do a “You and Yours” segment.

On the day we delivered advice about Digital Switchover (which we managed

to find funding for) well over 1000 people attended the event, including some

of our fellow FoNDT members!

July saw the Olympic Torch arrive in Northumberland and the Bedlington-

shire Development Trust was a major player in putting on a parade before the

Torch officially arrived in Bedlington. The BBC had heard about our plans

and sent a cameraman and reporter to cover the preparations and our pre-torch

parade.

Not a very nice day for it but who opened the parade?

July also saw us helping the Salvation Army organise another very successful event celebrating the open-

ing of the London Olympics. A full evening of sporting entertainments was offered and well over 200

people enjoyed the BBQ we cooked!

(Heat exhaustion and burnt fingers after 4 hours of solid cooking but not one case of food poisoning!)

Lastly the Trust, always proud of the Town and surrounding area, has recently unearthed the lost

coat of arms for Bedlingtonshire.

This logo now features on the Trust’s paperwork and if anyone wants to challenge that decision

the Chair says our champion will meet any challenger on the field of battle in Gallagher Park!

With over 5000 spectators lining Bedlington Front Street and well over

200 people taking part in our parade, from senior citizens to small

children who were members of local dance troops and of course

Bedlington Terrier dogs including a huge mascot, even the weather

couldn’t spoil the obvious enthusiasm for the event.

As part of our commitment to improving local services we helped with the building work which turned derelict premises into a base for a community radio group. We are now helping SNRG, South Northum-berland Radio Group, in its efforts to become part of the landscape in the South East of the county. With one very successful RSL broad-cast behind them and an application for another and also a more permanent 5 year licence being worked on SNRG have shown their community credentials.

FoNDT Newsletter 16/10/2012

P A G E 6

Thousands of you took a step back in time recently to make the most of the four Heritage Open Days organised in Morpeth as part of a nationwide event to celebrate England’s rich cultural and architectural traditions. More than 3,600 people of all ages attended a variety of activities organised and co-ordinated by Greater Morpeth Development Trust (GMDT) as the town’s contribution to what has become a popular annual event. Among the most popular local events were shop window displays in Newgate Street and Oldgate taking a look back at what the two streets were like and what businesses were trading there generations ago; the chance to tour the historic Bothal Church and Castle; and a guided coach tour with local historian Neil Taylor pointing out places of historic interest on a trip around Morpeth, Longhirst, Widdrington and Cresswell. GMDT Heritage Officer Barry Mead said numbers of people attending HODs events increased from last year. “There was another tremendous response from local people keen to find out things they didn’t know about the history of Morpeth and surrounding areas,” he said. The event has gone from strength to strength since the support of Heritage Lottery Funding in 2008 and this is an opportunity to be devel-oped across Northumberland taping into the existing strong portfolio of Heritage sites sup-ported by an army of volunteers. “Once again we were indebted to the many volunteers who gave up their time to either run or support events and without them we just simply couldn’t contemplate staging what is now one of the biggest and most popular HODs’ programmes in the county. “Already we are thinking about - and have the dates for - HODs in September 2013 and are more than happy to listen to ideas and suggestions about what events and activities people would like to see hap-pening then.” * Barry Mead can be contacted at Greater Morpeth Development Trust – telephone (01670) 503866.

www.gmdt.net

Greater Morpeth Development Trust

Taking a step back in time

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

HERITAGE OPEN DAY ATTENDANCE 2005-2012

Visitor numbers

FoNDT Newsletter 16/10/2012

P A G E 7

Glendale Gateway Trust

Following on from the successful Cycle Hubs project launch last year, Glendale Gateway Trust held the first cy-

cle sportive in North Northumberland on Sat 6th October. The Wooler Wheel was the idea of a local B&B owner

Beth Mills, the event has been an instant success with the 350 allocated entries selling out six weeks before the

closing date. Riders from throughout the Northeast

and Scotland were treated to virtually traffic free

roads, fantastic views, free jelly babies and possibly

the best spell of good weather this year. Two routes

were up for grabs, a 50Km one for the mere mortals

and 100km for the slightly more committed riders.

Excellent support and feedback was received from

local businesses, residents and, most importantly,

the riders. So much so that the organisers are plan-

ning for another similar event next year and a

150km challenge ride in May along with numerous

other guided rides throughout the summer months!

Go to www.woolerwheel.com to find out more

Neil Wilson from GGT rides ‘No1’

The Wooler Wheel

Ashington Community Development Trust

Local community to benefit from national campaign

Local residents in Ashington will benefit from a national training scheme. In our last edition, it was announced that Ashington Community Development Trust had been selected as the first organisation in Northumberland to take part in a national community support programme. The Community Organ-isers programme is being led by Locality, in partnership with Re-generate, the training provider, and the Office of Civil Society. The Ashington Trust is hosting 3 Community Organisers, on behalf of Locality, and they will have a base at the Trust’s operational centre, The Deputy’s Kist on Woodhorn Road. The Ashington Organisers have undertaken their initial training with Re-generate on the “Root Solutions Listening Matters” technique. They have also had the opportunity of gaining valuable operational experience from the Com-munity Organisers based in Sunderland. Karen, Teck and Vicky are now out and about in Ashington, listening to their views about the local area – what they like about it, what are their concerns and what they would like to see happen. The local community are being encouraged to make contact with them if they have a burning issue which they would like to discuss. Kevin Lillie, Business Development Officer at Ashington Community Development Trust, said: “We’re really pleased that the local Community Organisers are now up and running, listening to the community and starting to build their networks. The local community needs as much encouragement and support as can be provided.” Further information on the Community Organisers’ programme can be found on the web site, www.cocollaborative.org.uk.

FoNDT Newsletter 16/10/2012

P A G E 8

Notices and Advertisements

TO LET

Allenheads Trust has a fully fitted blacksmiths shop which is held on a

long term lease as an exhibition space.

This could be made available to an individual or a group for a nominal rent.

It would suit a blacksmith, farrier, iron worker, glassblower etc or

be used as a workshop for similar activities.

For Further Information, please contact Keith Walker on 07969021680

Do you need to send out an annual report, newsletter, Christmas cards, confer-ence information or other bulk mailing? if so, we could be ideally placed to help.

The Hextol Foundation in Hexham is a local charitable enterprise providing training and work

experience to people with learning disabilities. One of our social enterprises, Greenbox, is a print, post

and packing business based in our Vine Terrace HQ.

Hextol Greenbox is an award-winning charitable enterprise, based in Hexham and we offer packing,

posting, design and printing services and have some good rates to offer voluntary and community or-

ganisations – some for less than the price of a stamp!

I include below an offer we have put together for community/voluntary groups which may interest

you or your partners.

Here are some examples of what we can offer:

- A4 letters printed in black or with a colour logo, folded, packed and posted 2nd class for 49p

- 1 to 3 items packed in standard A5 envelopes and posted 2nd class for 46p

- 4 A4-page newsletter, printed with 5% colour as a folded booklet on A3, packed and posted 2nd

class for 59p

- Graphic design (per hour) for £29

We would be very happy to quote for whatever you have in mind.

For further information, contact: Cherie or Chris on 01434 605253 or email greenbox@hextol.org.uk

www.hextol.org.uk