Groundwork, perhaps now best known in the borough for running Jarrow Hall Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village, and Bede Museum, has supported thousands of South Tyneside people into work, apprenticeships or training and rejuvenated swathes of our urban green spaces.
The charity, which works under the themes of creating sustainable communities, raising aspirations, improving lives and create better places, delivers a wide range of programmes and services from education enrichment to community programmes.
The Green Gym, West Boldon Lodge, Marsden Road Health and Wellbeing Centre and the Groundwork Shop at Middlefields Recycling Village are all part of its operations in South Tyneside.
Foreground: Andrew Watts, chief executive of Groundwork South and North Tyneside with Daniel O’Mahoney, Trustee of Groundwork. With them are staff at the charity and the location is Jarrow Hall, one of the many projects Groundwork manages in South Tyneside
Andrew Watts, chief executive of Groundwork South & North Tyneside, said: “We are so proud of what we have achieved over the past three decades, from supporting people into work to opening Jarrow Hall in 2016, we continue to deliver our vision of ‘changing places, changing lives’.
“Groundwork is a dynamic organisation that allows its staff and volunteers to grow, and through this approach we have been able to fulfil this vision across South Tyneside, since 1991.”
He added: "South Tyneside Council has been the most significant strategic partner over the past three decades, providing support, advice and guidance on a vast range of projects and initiatives. That relationship continues to flourish and it was very touching and, indeed, highly symbolic, that the council helped us to celebrate our 30th anniversary by lighting the Town Hall in green to mark our huge environmental footprint in the borough.”
Cllr Tracey Dixon, Leader of South Tyneside Council said: “The council has a long-standing and successful partnership with Groundwork. It has a large portfolio of activities and what underpins all of them is a passion for innovation and finding solutions to help the wider communities it serves.
“30 years on, Groundwork continues to deliver against its original vision, working with us, the council, to make South Tyneside an outstanding place to live, invest and bring up families.
"It is by working in partnership, that we have found new models of service delivery to bring about positive change in the borough.
“Groundwork has an important role in harnessing resources to undertake schemes which are beyond the reach of the public authorities. Working closely with the private sector and local community to bring finance, energy, imagination and a collaborative approach, we look forward to working in partnership with Groundwork over the next 30 years and beyond.”
A look back at Groundwork’s 30 years in South Tyneside
Established in March 1991 under a partnership agreement with South Tyneside Council, Tyne & Wear Development Corporation and Groundwork Federation.
In 1994, supported the Great North Forest to plant over 1000 trees at Tilesheds Nature Reserve, and today we are supporting the Council with woodland management through the Green Recovery Challenge Fund.
1996, opened the Eco Centre, Hebburn; at the time it was Europe’s most environmentally sustainable building, to date the ethos continues through the management of the building.
1997, opened the Education Centre at West Boldon as part of the National Grid Education Centre Network. As a result of the success at the centre, a new centre was constructed by National Grid in 2010 creating ‘West Boldon Lodge’.
2001, in partnership with South Tyneside Hospital, Groundwork created the Catherine Cookson Memorial Garden that provides reflective space for patients and their families.
2005, supported the community engagement and regeneration of former Monkton Cokeworks to create the community woodland we see and enjoy today, Groundwork manages the land on behalf of the Land Trust for community and bio-diversity. Also, that year, we launched our green exercise projects of Green Gym and Walking Works Wonders. Today, both continue to support local residents and improve urban green spaces
2007, saw the opening of the Recycling Village shop at Middlefields in partnership with the Council, the shop continues to support the circulator economy and existing new plans are being finalised to further develop new recycling initiatives.
2008, building on our green ethos and innovation, a wide range of renewable energy measures were installed within the underpass between Hill Park and Low Simonside, the small turbine is still merrily spinning supporting our commitment to green energy.
2010, working with local businesses is a key component of our work and with help from St Bede’s Primary School, we created a wildlife garden at their premises in Simonside.
2012, we created a partnership with South Tyneside Council to support the development of One Trinity Green, the partnership created an outstanding modern business centre that benefits from cutting edge environmental energy systems.
2013, with support from South Tyneside Council and future funding from ESFA, we started our Route 2 Work College, the post 16 provision offers SEN learners the opportunity to develop their confidence and skills in preparation for the world of work.
2014, we started our building management of Marsden Road Health & Wellbeing Centre, following the redevelopment of the centre by South Tyneside Council. The centre offers a range of activities and community events, and in 2020 secured a large National Lottery grant to support our community resilience work.
2016, through the Groundwork Federation, we support the Tesco Bags for Help community fund, this has enabled us to support community projects across the Borough since 2016 whilst championing the reduction in single use carrier bags.
2017, following a soft launch in the previous autumn, we officially opened Jarrow Hall, Anglo Saxon Farm and Bede Museum. The site has seen significant improvements on both the farm and museum over the past 4 years and hosting a Royal Visit in 2019.
2019, our Route 2 Work college continues to grow with excellent feedback from students and parents, this was acknowledged by our Ofsted ‘Good’ in June 2019, quoting “learners develop their work-related and independent living skills well2.
2020, through the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund, the Groundwork Federation received national funding, through this programme, we are delivering a programme of community engagement and woodland management across 4 sites in South Tyneside.
