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Glendale Gateway Trust

Glendale Gateway Trust is based in the market town of Wooler, it covers the beautiful but sparsely populated area of Glendale in North Northumberland. The Trust was set up in 1996 following a village appraisal which made a number of recommendations including the need for a community resource centre.

In order to meet the needs identified in the village appraisal, the Trust embarked upon the development of the Cheviot Centre. The derelict building was provided by community asset transfer on a long lease from Berwick Borough Council and Glendale Gateway Trust raised £750,000 funding for the conversion works. The Cheviot Centre was officially  opened in 2001 by Prince Charles.  At the heart of the local community, the Cheviot centre provides meeting, exhibition and office space and houses the tourist information centre.  A wide range of community organisations use and are based in the Centre which supports the Trust aims to ensure that there is a strong community and voluntary sector in Glendale

The Trust’s second asset, the Youth Drop-In Centre on the High Street, has been an essential element of provision for young people in the area for more than ten years. The building was owned by a defunct charity and a transfer agreement made between the Trust and the last surviving trustee. The Trust raised £40,000 to renovate the building and helped form a new Youth Drop-in group to manage the project.

In 2005, the Trust was selected to deliver the Market Town Initiative in Glendale.  Initial work identified a number of key local issues including an ageing and declining population, empty shops, a lack of affordable housing and little to attract visitors.

Building on its successful community engagement and asset developments, the Trust took on the role of stimulating growth and regeneration in the area.

Priorities were identified as:

  • economic development
  • affordable housing
  • social and recreational opportunities for local people. 

The Trust was active locally, regionally and nationally in promoting the role of development trusts in delivering community based affordable housing and highlighting the links between access to affordable housing and economic development in rural communities.  Key industry areas in North Northumberland are tourism and farming which struggle to recruit local workers if there is a lack of affordable housing.  Currently the average house price in the area is £195,000. At the same time, run-down and empty shops are a disincentive to tourism.

Focusing on objectives around economic development and affordable housing, the Trust has grown its own asset base and facilitated other development including:

  • buying properties on the High Street – three have been converted to modern shops for rent to local businesses with affordable rented flats above - one property has been converted to a three bedroom house
  • purchase of land behind the High Street which had not been previously developed due to problems with road access.   Because the Trust owned the properties in the High Street and could allow access, the land was sold to a housing association and 15 affordable homes were built
  • Purchase of the youth hostel in Wooler from the Youth Hostel Association in order to secure its future.  The youth hostel has a crucial economic impact in the town as visitors spend money with a range of local businesses.

Overall the Trust has sought to maximise its economic impact in the Glendale area by using local traders in its building development projects.   A Local Multiplier 3 calculation showed that the £43k spent to renovate the three bedroom house on the High Street was worth £129k to the local economy in Glendale.

The Trust now holds £1.4 million in assets, generates £143k annually in income from its assets, and employs ten people. It raises grant income to support a wide range of initiatives and activities in the local area including the Glendale Festival, a rural employability project and the creation of Wooler as a cycle hub to strengthen the tourism offer of the area.

The latest venture for the Trust is an asset transfer linked to moving the library service.  The library in Wooler is now housed in the Cheviot Centre and a service level agreement between the Trust and the County Council established to manage it. As a consequence of moving the library is now open 38 hours a week compared to the 12hours a week previously, the Trust has an income from the rental of the space and the County Council is saving due to reduced overheads in the shared space. The project also frees up the library building for community asset transfer to the Trust to be turned into two affordable housing units.

For more information, please go to Glendale Gateway Trust