Voluntary help needed to save our Community Centre!

As you are probably aware Bedlington, like the rest of the county, has been and will be hit with a package of cuts while Northumberland County Council re-adjusts its financial budgets. One of these measures has been to put our Community Centre on closure notice.

To try and mitigate the effects of these cuts, and to bring in additional value for our communities, a Development Trust for Bedlingtonshire has been formed. This Development Trust has formally registered an interest in taking over the Community Centre in an effort to keep it open and accessible for us all. A business plan is being worked on which will go before Northumberland County Council for their consideration.

A vital part of this business plan will be to ask the community for voluntary help in the initial stages of a possible takeover.

By reading this you have already registered an interest in community life within Bedlington and we would therefore respectfully ask if you could consider helping us in our endeavours. We need a handful more people who are willing to give up some of their time to keep the Community Centre open. This should be a short term initiative as development plans are being considered which will make the Community Centre sustainable and allow for its normal commercial viability.

We believe our Community Centre can/will and should be the heart of our community and if that is something you agree with please contact us for further information or leave your thoughts in the comments.

Brian Oliver,

Secretary.

Bedlingtonshire Development Trust.