Community hub is thriving on old South Shields pit site

Thousands of people are enjoying the benefits of community hub on the site of a former South Tyneside pit.
Sea Winnings Way, Westoe Crown Village Tesco Express.Sea Winnings Way, Westoe Crown Village Tesco Express.
Sea Winnings Way, Westoe Crown Village Tesco Express.

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust made a capital investment in the shops at the heart of Westoe Crown Village in South Shields, as part of its Communities That Work programme.

This allowed the Trust - which the only organisation dedicated to supporting former mining areas - to work with the community to provide retail space at affordable prices.

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In addition, a social investment grant was made to Asset Base CIC, the partner selected to take on the management of the local community centre, which had remained dormant for five-years.

The community hub is now thriving and become a focal point for the area.

It provides 30 programmes of activity, with 3,449 people taking part.

Three business start-ups have been supported and more than 1,000 visitors have called in.

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Lynda Chapman, strategic lead on employment skills and training for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, said: “We know that there is still a huge job to be done in the coalfield communities.

“We can’t just leave these areas to remain as some of the most deprived in the country.

“There are people who want to work, learn and lead a better quality of life and they just need some support to do that.”

Linda added: “The Communities that Work programme will bring together a tool kit of initiatives that have proven to be particularly successful in the past.”