New community hub opens in Seaham in partnership with Believe Housing and Coalfields Regeneration Trust
A former worship hall in Seaham has been brought back into community use after being leased for an annual rent of just £5 – and a stottie.
The new CRT Seaham Hub, based in the former Ebenezer Hall, is run by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) and has been opened to provide a welcoming space for people to meet, access support, build skills and improve their health.
It will also enable organisations to deliver activities and support services under one roof.
The CRT secured funding from not-for-profit landlord Believe Housing and Durham County Council’s Easington and Seaham Local Network.
The hall’s owner Peter Vine, a surveyor from Sussex, bought it several years ago after discovering his grandfather John Watson had helped to build it in the 1920s as a place of worship and support for local people.
He was keen to find a new community use for it after its last use as a beauty academy.
Peter said: “I’d been trying to find the right use, and when I found the CRT and saw what they do, it just felt right.
“It looks fantastic and I’m sure it will do a lot of good.
“I’m a surveyor and, in my role, I negotiate leases worth £300,000 to £500,000 a year in rent for corporate clients, so this is a bit different.
“£5 was the rent we agreed, but I needed to come up with a consideration in kind and that’s when we came up with the stottie.”
The inclusion of the traditional North East bread is a nod to Peter’s local roots.
Andy Lock, Chief Executive of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, said: “I’ve never seen a lease agreement with a stottie cake as a prerequisite, but hopefully Peter saw something in us as an organisation and gave us this deal and the opportunity to bring this space back into community use.
“By working with partners, our team can provide support and opportunities people in Seaham need.”
Believe Housing gave the project a £5,114 community grant towards equipment including laptops, a tutor, and gardening and craft supplies.
Alan Smith, Chief Executive of Believe Housing, said: “There is a strong link between the work of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and housing associations like Believe Housing in supporting healthier, more sustainable communities.”