Linskill Centre, North Shields
The Linskill Centre in North Shields is a former school that was scheduled for demolition by the local authority in the early part of the 2000s.
Having been used as a community / adult education centre in previous years, the building was well-loved and used by local people and a vociferous ‘Save the Linskill Centre’ campaign sprang up. The campaign was successful and the council agreed to grant a 30 year lease to a new charity and development trust that emerged out of the campaign group.
The centre is now a third sector hub for the communities of
Income for the trust comes from room hire, office rental and the centre’s own café, and the trust is looking to develop trading arms to expand its socially enterprising activity.
The process has not been without its problems. As a big Victorian building, management of the centre presents its own challenges, and the cost of heating and maintenance can be a major issue for the trust, who would prefer to spend this money on project and salary costs.
However, the trust reports the centre being saved and coming into community use has had a huge benefit for local people. Firstly, the campaign itself galvanised local people and its success proved to them that they can have an influence and change policy. Secondly, the flexible, community-focused, non-institutional nature of the building is in contrast to many public and private sector facilities which are viewed as impersonal and inaccessible.
Support for the management and development of the building has come from a variety of sources including the Development Trusts Association, North Tyneside Council, charitable funders such as the Big Lottery and Northern Rock Foundation, as well as some subcontracts for the provision of information, advice and guidance.
Future plans for the centre include ongoing maintenance and some refurbishment, and the trust is on the lookout for suitable sources of funding and support to help them achieve these goals.
