Newbiggin Sports and Community Centre Phase Two, a ‘Garden of Eden’.

The modernisation of Newbiggin by the Sea’s Sports and Community Centre is now underway. The project driven by County Councillor Liz Simpson and the Newbiggin Community Trust is designed to bring back much greater Community and visitor use into the Town and has the full support of the County Councils ‘Communities Together’ initiative.

The community centre which has degraded into a run down neglected space over the last few years primarily due to the impact of Advance Northumberland’s concentration on sporting activities and health & wellbeing work contracted by the County Council in partnership with the local NHS trusts, is about to be reborn and hopefully return to its heydays in serving not only the local community but also the huge increase in summer population as visitors flock into its caravan parks and with a new large caravan park gaining planning permission quite recently the need to prepare the centre for a post covid future is visionary indeed.

 Councillor Liz Simpson who is fully supportive of the project has also put forward plans to brighten up surrounds of the centre and has set aside £20,000 from her small schemes money to develop a public garden area at the centre which will be central to phase two of the current modernisation scheme.

 Councillor Simpson spoke with us and said “I’m so pleased that our Community Centre here in Newbiggin is being modernised and being brought back into full use once the pandemic is behind us.

As a Community Trust, we have been working behind the scenes for quite a long time to keep our community front and centre in the County Councils thinking”. 

“Working with the County Council’s Communities Together team has been a dream as they fully understand the problems we face and how a deprived area such as Newbiggin by the Sea needs to have a central hub in order to assist people face to face”.

 “The modernisation plans are so strong that I decided to add a second phase using my small schemes allowance and along with the Community Trust wish to develop a community garden at the centre”. 

“Myself and the members of the Trust believe it will not only enhance the centre but will give people the chance to mix with others who like to be in the fresh air and garden in a safe and secure environment and will be central to our grow and eat scheme.”

Its planned to complete the modernisation works by early summer and dates for an official opening will be set once lockdown restrictions are lifted.