A new community hub in Darlington is to be launched next week to offer a range of support and activities for residents, businesses and other organisations in Northgate.

The Corporation Road Community Hub will be based at Corporation Road Primary School, which will also promote its activities via the hub’s own Facebook page.

The school is a key partner in the new hub, providing both a venue, and ongoing support, while a host of other partners and organisations have also signed up to support the new initiative, including:

• Local neighbourhood Police officers from Durham Constabulary

• Citizens Advice

• Morrisons Trust

• Social prescribers from Primary Healthcare Darlington

• The Bread & Butter Thing

• Darlington Borough Council’s civic enforcement, housing services, private                   sector housing team, children’s services and 0-19 growing healthy team.

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A timetable of activities for people to join in and drop-in sessions where people can speak to professionals for advice and support will be provided, to start from Monday, March 6.

Cllr. Mike Renton, the council’s cabinet member for stronger communities, said: “The idea for the new community hub came from the Northgate Initiative, a multi-agency collaboration set up in 2019 to help support residents in all areas of wellbeing including economy, education and childhood, health, environment and social relationships.

“The hub will bring together a wide range of services, and activities, in one place and provide alternative ways of delivering services with community involvement at its heart.

“Our local schools are very much at the heart of our communities, and it’s wonderful that Corporation Road Primary School has offered to host the hub and support its activities. We hope residents will take full advantage of the new facility.”

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Gareth McManus, deputy headteacher at Corporation Road Community Primary School, said: “Our locality means that we are in the heart of Northgate and due to our commitment to support our local community, we are proud and excited to develop and host this hub for the benefit of all the local residents in the Northgate area.”

Residents and businesses in the Northgate area are invited to find out more about the new Corporation Road Community Hub at a launch event at the school on Wednesday 1 March, 2-4pm.

Details of support and activities, to run from March, will be shared via the hub’s own Facebook page at Corporation Road Community Hub. 

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