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Glendale Gateway Trust

Glendale image

Glendale Gateway Trust was set up in 1996 following a village appraisal.  Based in the market town of Wooler, it covers the beautiful but sparsely populated area of Glendale in North Northumberland.  Its main priorities are:

  • economic development
  • affordable housing
  • social and recreational opportunities.

The first project undertaken by the Trust was development of the Cheviot Centre, to provide meeting, exhibition and office space and to house the tourist information centre.  The derelict building was provided by community asset transfer on a long lease from Berwick Borough Council.   The Trust raised £750,000 in funding for the conversion works and the centre was officially opened in 2001 by Prince Charles.

The Trust aims to ensure that there is a strong community and voluntary sector in Glendale.  A wide range of community organisations use and are based in the Cheviot Centre.   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.

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.

The Trust used its asset base, the Cheviot Centre and the youth drop-in building, to address these issues. The Trust’s achievements include:

  • 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 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 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 freeing up the library building for community asset transfer to the Trust to be turned into two affordable housing units.

You can see films that document the journey of the Trust through a 12 month period at www.youtube.com/assettransferunit