Newlands - all together now

It's all very well providing outstanding facilities, creating opportunities for education, training, employment and economic growth and implementing crime prevention programmes, but the Newlands Partnership had higher aspirations in mind. It wanted to create a real and enduring community spirit - to empower the people within Newlands to take ownership and direction of their future.

Several community groups already existed at the start of the Newlands programme, based at community centres throughout the area. However, while some groups had a great deal of enthusiasm, funds were limited and membership and confidence were often low.

Powerhouse: Through this project, the Newlands Partnership set out to give these community groups a voice, support them with facilities and offer advice and training to help them develop. Over the last seven years the Powerhouse project has supported numerous groups and developed several new innovative and creative projects to help the people of Newlands help themselves, including Culture Club: which provided education and improved knowledge of cultural issues in an effort to ease racial tension in this multi-cultural area.

Artworks: Another project designed to bring communities closer together, Artworks worked across the five Newlands estates, using creativity to engage local people in the regeneration of their communities.

Community Focus
Funding has been provided through the Newlands Partnership to improve and increase the number of community centres available throughout the area.

Thornbury Centre: The Newlands Partnership provided financial aid for the Thornbury Centre which replaced the previously demolished St Margaret's Church, but now offers far more. The Thornbury Centre houses a community centre, a branch library, childcare facilities, café and meeting rooms.

Holybrook Centre: The original Brookfield first school was acquired for the community and converted into the Holybrook centre, which now provides a base for community groups in the area and a much needed community facility in the Greengates estate.

Rockwell Centre, Thorpe Edge: A major development, the Rockwell Centre has provided essential social and health facilities for the area. It involved the construction of a medical centre for six doctors and a pharmacy, plus a new community centre complete with nursery, childcare facilities, café and meeting rooms.

St John’s Centre, Fagley: Through investment and renovation, this declining church has evolved into a vibrant community centre used by a host of local community groups.

Facilities in good health
Poor health is often associated with deprived neighbourhoods. Newlands was no different and health was a particular issue that the Partnership set out to improve. Within the Powerhouse project a dedicated health team was established to identify and address the particular health needs of the Newlands community.

Various initiatives and safety courses were implemented, including:

Young Lifesavers: This initiative provided valuable training and lifesaving qualifications for young people in Newlands.

Homesafety: Free safety equipment for families with young children was made available through the Homesafety service.

A clear impact of the Newlands Partnership programme has been the improved provision of healthcare facilities within the area.

Thorpe Edge Doctors Surgery: This new surgery provides much needed primary healthcare facilities for the local community. The facility generates income through surgery unit rental, which will be used to fund future projects in the Newlands area.

Eccleshill Community Hospital: Built on the site of Eccleshill Upper School, the 18-bed hospital has an integral Diagnostic and Treatment Centre for outpatients, as well as a doctors surgery. This allows diagnostic procedures and day-case surgery to be carried out quickly and locally, benefiting everyone in the community.