This month, The Four Clocks Centre will be celebrating 21 years since it opened as a Community Resource Centre, writes Trustee and Company Secretary, Robin Easton.
After the closure of the Methodist Wesley Church in 1993, it was four years later that Bishop Auckland Community Partnership was formed, after a Churches Together survey of community needs in the town. That survey produced ten recommendations, one of which was the formation of the Partnership, with a view to convert the empty building into a centre for the community.
The five years prior to the opening of the centre, in May 2002, saw a lot of hard work by the original trustees of the partnership, in the planning and fundraising needed to see the aspirations come to fruition. In total, £1.2m was raised, including a £400,000 Lottery Grant.
Many other national and regional funders also came on board, once the lottery grant was awarded, allowing for the purchase of the building, its conversion, and running costs for the first three years. In September 2002, Princess Anne visited to officially open the building in her role as Patron of Citizens Advice.
We are planning to have an Open Day on Friday 19 May from 10am to 2pm, when a plaque will be unveiled to mark the 21st birthday by Sue Snowdon the Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham. We hope the day will be used by the community to have a look around and see the various aspects of community work that is undertaken in the Four Clocks Centre.
Over the 21 years, trustees and staff have changed, and the nature of the projects have also changed. A Youth Project sadly closed in 2013 when it became too difficult to raise the funds to keep it going. At present, the partnership run six other projects, as well as the Four Clocks Centre itself:
The Family Contact Centre is for estranged parents to meet with their child(ren) twice a month on a Saturday morning. A part-time Co-ordinator and a team of eight volunteers keep the project going, and we remain a member of the National Association of Child Contact Centres, who audit us every three years. It appears we are one of the few contact centres in the North-East who offer free support, as many charge the parents for the contact.
The Friday Club is designed to relieve isolation and loneliness in older persons. It meets weekly on a Friday afternoon for 2 hours, and the members also have two or three trips a year, usually to the seaside, and the pantomime at Durham.
The Memory Club is for people with dementia and their carers and meets every two weeks on a Tuesday afternoon.
Time 4 Toddlers is for pre-school children and their parent/s and or other carers and it meets every Friday morning during term time.
A Bump and Beyond is a support group for expectant and young mums which meets weekly on a Thursday morning. It is hosted by an NHS-trained volunteer.
Cultivate 4 Life is a gardening project, which has two allotments on Woodhouse Close Estate. Originally designed as an holistic service to help people get back into work, it is now moving towards more community gardening for those unable to look after their own gardens.
Meanwhile, the Time For You Cafe, originally run by Bishop Auckland College, is now run by Claire and her mother, Jane, as our tenants. The cafe continues to be well thought of in the town and is particularly busy at lunch times.
As well as our current tenants, Citizens Advice, Princes Trust and the cafe, we have a range of meeting rooms for hire by the hour. They are currently used by an NHS Trust for children’s speech therapy and the driving test agency for the theory test, amongst many other charities and organisations.
So, having survived for 21 years, through some difficult times, the thanks must go to all the trustees, staff and volunteers involved over that period of time.
We can’t wait to see what the next 21 years have in store. And don’t forget to come along to our Open Day on the 19th. We look forward to seeing you all and you will be made most welcome.
Bishop Auckland's local community newspaper.
