10 Frank Street, Wallsend, Tyne & Wear, NE28 6RN

Tel: 0191 263 5029 Fax: 0191 295 4691

E-mail: info@wallsendpc.org

maureen.madden@wallsendpc.org

carol.tregidga@wallsendpc.org

printroom@wallsendpc.org

lorna.graham@wallsendpc.org

mick.riley@wallsendpc.org

rob@wallsendpc.org

printroom@wallsendpc.org

advice@wallsendpc.org

advice@wallsendpc.org

The People's Centre has just celebrated its 20th Anniversary (in 2007). Originally located in Charlotte Street near the Town Hall, the Centre moved to our current premises on the ground floor of the historic Memorial Hall building in 1992. Originally funded in 1987 for three years through the Urban Programme, the Centre rapidly established itself within the local community as a provider of quality services. The local economy has experienced massive change in the last 20 years, with traditional industries such as shipbulilding contracting and closing to be replaced in the main by service industry jobs which are lower paid. The People's Centre has addressed these changes by providing high quality training, particularly in computing skills, to enable the people of North Tyneside to adapt to changes in the job market. As well as greater employability these courses help build confidence and a sense of community.

Wallsend Memorial Hall (from a watercolour by Joe Stephenson, 1992) The People's Centre occupies the ground floor of this splendid 1920s building which was built in the aftermath of the 1926 General Strike to provide educational and leisure opportunities for the people of Wallsend.

The way the Centre is funded has changed considerably over the years. Initially most of the funding was provided by North Tyneside Council. Like most voluntary sector groups we have had to adjust to a downscaling of this source of funding. We have had to be increasingly resourceful in tapping into alternative sources of revenue - including service level agreements with North Tyneside Coucil, cafe, printroom and creche earnings, receipts from Next Step

for Information Advice and Guidance for clients and funding from the Community Foundation.

Wallsend People's Centre attracts some 2,000 visitors a week and is a vibrant hub for local community activity. Our mission is to reach and support those furthest away from the labour market due to barriers such as health, incapacity, life-expectancy, education and ethnicity. Key goals are to reduce skills gaps and shortages, increasing opportunities by improving learning and signposting people to jobs, training and qualifications. Our key partners are:

Wallsend Memorial Hall & Cafe - History (wording on a poster of 12th November 1956)

"Wallsend is indebted to the interest of the late Sir G.B. Hunter, K.B.E., D.Sc., J.P., and Lady Hunter in temperance and educational matters for the buildings known as the Wallsend Memorial Hall and Cafe.

The Cafe buildings, erected in 1883, were for many years the centre for Wallsend social life and for technical education. Today, the modernised Cafe is still fully patronised and the rooms extensively used for trade union, political, religious, temperance and recreational purposes, often at nominal rents depending upon the cause.

The hall was dedicated in 1925 in honour of the employees of Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Ltd., who gave their lives in the 1914-18 War and a plaque has been added to the memorial to commemorate those men who died in the 1939-45 war. The upper hall is provided with a sprung dance floor; the ground floor is divided into three halls, serving the purpose of a meeting room, a badminton court and a men's recreation room which is of particular value to the retired and unemployed.

The property is held in Trust, the trustees being representatives of the directors, staff and work-people of Messrs. Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Ltd., and of the churches and temperance associations of Wallsend.

The Trust is non-profit-making, and, as it does not receive financial assistance from any source, it is entirely self-supporting."

Wallsend has a long and varied history, right down to its name. The Segedunum Roman Fort overlooked the Tyne and for 300 years was garrisoned with about 600 soldiers to protect the northern edge of the Roman Empire.

North Tyneside also played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution, with coalmining starting in 1781 and ending with the closure of the Rising Sun Colliery in 1969. Shipbuilding has been the other key industry to the area, notably the world famous Swan Hunter shipyard where skilled workers made and maintained ships such as the Mauretania and the Ark Royal. This era came to an end last year with the closure of the shipyard.

As traditional industries have declined, diversification into service industries, commerce, construction, I.T. and support for the offshore oil industry has taken place. The People's Centre is instrumental in helping people re-train and equip themselves with skills for the jobs which are available in the 21st century.

The People's Centre is committed to the principles of equality, dignity and respect. We will apply these principles to all clients, customers, staff, volunteers and visitors. These principles will be applied regardless of gender, race, colour, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, nationality, disability or health status, economic status or class.

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