History of the Lemington Centre
Once upon a Tyne there was a little portacabin hidden away on a back road deep in the heart of the village of Lemington . This portacabin housed a busy Community Association which, for years, saw the youngsters of the area pass through and then return as adults to attend classes and gatherings and then in turn introduce their own children.
This Community Association had a dream. They dreamt of a grand new building with room for everyone, young and old, with ranks of computers and a gym, a sports hall and a play group and, gem of gems, a café, where all could meet and chat over home made scones and pots of tea... Eight years down the line and this vision has been realised. Lemington has its brand new building with every facility first thought of and a few more besides.
The Lemington Centre is now a Healthy Living Centre, slap bang on the front of Tyne View for all to see. The extras include a suite to house the local Health Care Team and offices to rent out to small local concerns as a temporary base while they find their feet. This is part of a new focus on the business sector as part and parcel of the local community.
The services offered include:
- a smart Board Room for serious meetings
- more relaxed lounge for less formal team meetings
- reception services
- wireless broadband connectivity
- two offices to rent out
- one smaller office for very short lets, from an hour to a day
- group room for training, seating 25
- IT café
- café offering home made lunches, healthy buffets and those scones
- GP Referrals (more information)
What is more remarkable is that the Centre is still manned by those original volunteers who had this ambition for Lemington - although they have taken on a little bit of paid help to cope with the changes and the new services on offer. They still retain that passion to provide for all ages and manage to cater for babies, school kids, young couples and mums and dads, retired folk and the very senior citizens from the Care Homes up the road.
They are also keen to empower local residents through financial responsibility and host agencies to provide debt and employment advice and run courses aimed at opening pathways into work. It's not all work - they host parties too, especially if you're under 5 and enjoy tumbling around on the soft play stuff.
And, don't forget, Lemington is not at the other end of the galaxy; it's only 10 minutes away from the city centre or the Metro Centre and 5 minutes away from the Newburn Riverside development - in fact, it's quite possibly the centre of the universe...
Interested in finding out more?
Telephone John Dawson on 0191 264 1959 or email lemingtoncc77@hotmail.com
The Lemington Community Association gratefully acknowledges financial assistance from: The Big Lottery, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, The Single Programme, Single Regeneration Budget, One NorthEast and Newcastle City Council.