Our Community Development Officers ..........
are based in rural centres around the county in order to engage with and support a wide range of community groups and active individuals at grass-roots level.
Our staff have provided the sharp-end for a variety of local, national and European development programmes, including the Northumberland Strategic Partnership/One NE, Countryside Agency Vital Villages, Objective 2, Leader + and the England Rural Development Programme, the Local Network Fund for children and young people, and a variety of charitable programmes.
Our roles and objectives have been diverse: to help communities play a significant part in their own regeneration; to encourage involvement by socially excluded groups; to develop effective relationships within voluntary/community sector; and with relevant public bodies; and to push for an appropriate context of policies and resources for local voluntary action.
We are organised into four locations:
Louise Currie is based in our office at Tower Buildings, 9 Oldgate, Morpeth,
Jane Hart offers advice and help from her base in Hexham Community Centre, Gilesgate, Hexham,
Julia Plinston is contactable at The Centre, 27 Fenkle Street, Alnwick, and
Marc Johnson covers the far north of the county from his office in 5 Tweed Street, Berwick.
A more limited level of support is offered in the Wansbeck and Blyth Valley areas, partly due to limited resources and also because we have actively supported the creation of 2 local councils of voluntary service to take the lead in these localities.
The development staff have given a wide variety of advice, support and encouragement to a wide range of voluntary and community groups. Where necessary, specialist assistance has been provided by David Francis, Alan Hedley and Linda Frater who, between them, provided advice on topics such as charity law, constitutions, grant aid, management, finance, community buildings, rural services, training, youth work and local government.
Examples of work done in the past are diverse: the development of a Neighbourhood Nursery in North Tyne and Redesdale; the initiation of a Sanctuary Wildlife Centre which moved from its original site near Alnwick to its present site at Ulgham, near Morpeth; support for a clean-drinking water project at Kirknewton, which resulted in the drilling of a new bore-hole to provide safe, clean drinking water; the opening up and interpretation of the historic churches of Northumberland, starting with St Andrew's church at Heddon on the Wall, the starting point for many people who visit Hadrian's Wall National Trail; and the support of the Rothbury and Coquetdale Youth Project in their bid to continue and develop their work and to employ a full-time Youth Development Worker. With back-up for management committees, assistance in constitutions and suggestions to help with funding opportunities, we expect to attract many other such diverse projects in the future in asking for our help.
