Deaf Hill Ward Regeneration Partnership July 29th 2005

kickstart

Above: George, Tony and Alice Mason.
It started here and is now a success with all the voluntary help. Thank you all

I would like to thank all the volunteers at the Trimdon Station Welfare for making it a success. The need for younger people to get involved with helping out is required to keep the good work going, and to make our village a better place for young and old alike. Don’t be shy, come along, you will be welcome, by the Committee and Staff

George Martin

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Episode XXXII Thursday June 30th 2005

This afternoon the lift for the disabled had final electrical adjustments and was tested and commissioned, and will be available for use by disabled and elderly members almost immediately. (Some cosmetic work is still to be done in the area surrounding the lift itself.)

The Official Opening is scheduled for Saturday 13th August – more details of events etc. soon.

EPISODE XXXI – April 28th 2005

Those who tuned in to the last episode of this thrilling (horrendous would be a better word) serial will have gained the impression that the Regeneration Partnership was hoping to declare a date for the Grand Opening of YOUR refurbished Community Centre.

Alas, last week, the Lift Contractors, having been assailed by complaints about delays from here and from the Consulting Architects and Builders, attended a meeting here in the village and told us that there had been a wrong measurement used at the factory in Greece and thus much of the work which had been done in the shaft was completely wasted and all would have to be removed.

The time scale for this new delay (remember the lift was due early last autumn) is “up and running” in seven weeks. Although we continue to hope for the best we will not hold our breath.

Meanwhile, the Library is being set up and other work being carried out.

BEFORE we open the doors to one and all we MUST have some volunteers willing to help set up the various sections. If you, or anyone in your family, is interested in a particular activity and is willing to help please make contact in writing to the Community Centre.

If volunteers do not come forward a number of people will have totally wasted their energies over the past couple of years – you have been warned.

Please drop a note through the mail to :

DEAF HILL WARD REGENERATION PARTNERSHIP, TRIMDON STATION COMMUNITY CENTRE,
STATION ROAD EAST, TRIMDON STATION, CO.DURHAM, TS29 6BS

giving us your contact details if you are willing to get involved.

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14th April 2005

COMMUNITY CENTRE – EPISODE XXX

Those of you old enough to remember the start of the lift saga can ignore the second paragraph – new readers start here….

The lift to provide facilities for the disabled people of the village was due here in the early autumn of ’04, it finally arrived, somewhat inexplicably from Greece bearing German labels in January ’05 and in February installation commenced.

Now all readers can join in…………………..

Our electricity suppliers had forgotten to put in a vital piece of equipment, namely the correct meter, to enable the lift installers to get past the very first stages of their work. As the electricity suppliers no longer have their own engineers for such simple tasks we were at the mercy of their contractors. Many, many hours on the telephone, non-arrival of the engineer, the arrival of an un-qualified engineer and still more ‘phone calls finally produced an engineer on 16th.March the meter was installed and we awaited the return of the lift installers who had, of course, been forced by the delay to go to other jobs.

Over the past couple of weeks very little has happened except that we now know that the lift WILL work but unfortunately it appears that a vital part is missing.

Now you are up to date and we hope that very shortly the position will be resolved because in all the time that has elapsed since the lift actually arrived, quite soon after Santa had left, painters, decorators, electricians, plumbers and volunteers from the Regeneration Partnership have been beavering away to ensure that everything is in place for our official opening.

Soundproofing is complete with the ceilings downstairs having been lowered, work started on 13th to install the security fencing to the rear, the “youth pod” (a large portakabin) has been ordered pending the arrival of Planning Approval, the Renaissance Fund is shortly to start on rejuvenating the paving to the front and side of the building, much new double glazing has been installed, to the rear with more to come. The Games Alley has been ordered and the Short Mat Bowls Mat and Dartboards will come soon. The more elderly among us can look forward to the Luncheon Club starting up as soon as we open. In short people are trying to make things happen as quickly as possible and the patience of residents of the village is appreciated as we seek to overcome the many obstacles that have, and still, face us. We are now seeking some volunteers who will be needed for the various activities, in some cases, particularly for work with children and young adults we will need professionals but we will be unable to work without volunteers.

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From 7th Feb 2005

NEWS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY CENTRE – LIFT ARRIVES !!!

Several months late the lift for the disabled arrived on February 3rd. Apologies to the resident who had to be awoken to move his car – 60 feet of trailer takes up a good deal of space. We now wait for the lift company to tell us when they will start installing this miracle of German engineering, manufactured in Greece and carried by road via the ferry to Italy and then through Switzerland and Luxembourg before passing through Belgium and to Calais for the ferry crossing to Dover.

The equipment is currently occupying a great deal of space in the ex Miners welfare.

The decoration of the first floor plus some of the ground floor and the stair walls has been completed and floor coverings are down where possible, the toilet facilities for both able-bodied and disabled are in place as is the the serving kitchen on the first floor.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The soundproofers move in in the next few days to eliminate as much noise as they can from the Hall, where dancing and other somewhat energetic activity will be happening. This is particularly important in view of the various computer courses which are running and the need for important meetings to be held with the minimum of noise distraction. With the band Room now operational on the ground floor the disturbance from that quarter is almost non-existent despite the enthusiastic efforts of the Trimdon Concert Brass.

The Line Dance and Sequence Dancing groups are operating in the Hall, the Band in their room, courses in the IT Suite, Citizens Advice Bureau on a Monday morning in whichever room is not currently full of builders, decorators and electricians. As far as young people are concerned we are extremely busy trying to get facilities rolling for them – the first major happening will be a Junior Disco for the under 13’s followed by a 13-19 event on the same day.

 

AIM HIGH

We have had a lot of people using the computer suite. East Durham and Houghall College started with free courses which were almost oversubscribed, subjects being Word Processing, MS Publisher and Excel spreadsheets. We also run a class on Thursday evenings 6.00 – 8.00pm to improve your skills.

DIGITAL EXCELLENCE

Ms Marie Wilkinson of Prospect Terrace is the first student to reach the standard needed to achieve a Gold diploma in word processing. Marie reached the level quite easily and is now trying to reach the same level in desktop publishing – good luck.

STREET WARDENS

Our street wardens are here to help, if you have a problem please contact them. All calls are dealt with in the strictest confidence. Contact telephone numbers;
01429 837 992 or Christine Carter (Neighbourhood Watch) on 01429 880 025

FUNCTION ROOM

When the lift is installed for access to the first floor and the room is open for dances, etc., a kitchen will also be available for hot drinks and other food items. We are also trying to organise a temporary bar in order to be able to serve drinks for special occasions such as weddings and other celebrations.

LIBRARY

The old meeting room is now going to be our library. We hope to equip it with a computer to help anyone who wishes to research their family history. We will also have a number of books available for loan – any book donations would be very welcome.

ACTIVITIES

Depending on response we intend to start various activities such as bowling tournaments, 5-a-side football, cricket tuition plus other games and pastimes. Suggestions can be made to Mr. Bernard Chatterly or any other committee member.

Finally, there are some young people breaking windows at the centre. If you see any vandalism, please report it and identify the culprits.