North East employer British Engines has struck a landmark long-term sponsorship deal with a pioneering new youth and community hub in Newcastle.
The Newcastle-based engineering group – which includes Michell Bearings in South Shields, BEL Engineering in Newcastle and CMP Products in Cramlington – has signed a 10-year sponsorship agreement with The Lighthouse Project in Byker.
The new facility, which is set to open this summer, will offer a range of activities and services centred around young people.
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The project is backed by a £4.2m grant from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport’s Youth Investment Fund, and through the generosity of Lord Crewe Trust and The Squires Foundation.
Set to open in the summer in St Michael’s Church, The Lighthouse Project will provide a safe, welcoming meeting place where young people and the community can flourish, with access to a wide variety of activities and services for around 1,500 young people and families each year.
Now British Engines, which was founded in Byker in 1922 and now employs around 1,200 people, has agreed to help fund the project’s set-up and ongoing running costs, as well as agree to provide a range of new opportunities for young people from the Byker community, including work experience and training.
Activities and services which will be on offer at The Lighthouse Project will include an open access youth club for juniors and seniors, homework clubs, family health and wellbeing programmes, forest school, as well as mentoring, special educational needs support and detached youth work, in cooperation with local delivery partners.
The redevelopment will include a new purpose-built youth club annexe, arts and performance spaces, e-sports suite, music rehearsal space, outdoor sports area and a nature trail, and detached youth work spaces.
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Office, meeting and storage facilities will be available for local community partner organisations, while the building will also provide a new home for the Byker Scout Group and a worship space.
Alex Lamb, chairman at British Engines, said: “The Lighthouse Project’s location is next to where British Engines was originally established as a company and, as a major employer in the North East, we feel a deep-rooted responsibility to give back to the local area.
“We feel privileged to support The Lighthouse Project. We were pleased to contribute funding to develop its physical infrastructure and initial set-up, and we are excited that our commitment will extend beyond its launch, with an annual grant that will help sustain its operations and ensure its long-term success.
“We look forward to playing an active role in helping The Lighthouse Project achieve its vision, creating meaningful opportunities for young people and making a positive, lasting impact on the local community.”
Ben Roman, chief executive at The Lighthouse Project, added: “Having the long-term backing of such a well-regarded Newcastle business is a real expression of confidence in our aims and ambitions, and we’re hugely grateful to British Engines for recognising the impact that our work will have on its home city.
“The new opportunities that this relationship will open up will be life-changing for so many young people in Byker and we’re certain that it will provide many great examples of what they can achieve when they’re given the chance to thrive.
“Corporate support for our work will be essential in helping us achieve our full potential, and we’re continuing to speak to other North East businesses about how we might help them achieve their community investment aspirations. We’re moving closer to being able to share this fantastic new facility with our local community and the wider city, and we’re very excited about all the new opportunities that it will deliver for the people of Byker and beyond.”