BRIDLINGTON’S former job centre is being transformed into a community hub to help the town bounce back from the challenges of Covid. 

HEY Smile Foundation has secured a short-term lease of the Crown Building, in Quay Road, from East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

The building, which has a floor space of 19,000 square metres, has been empty for two years, but now two charities – The Hinge and Carers Plus Yorkshire – will become some of the key charities to operate from the property, which has been renamed Crown Community.

Ann Newlove, Smile’s Head of Business and Communications, said: “HEY Smile Foundation is bringing together partners in the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector to promote the health, wellbeing and community covid recovery of this proud seaside town.  This ‘test and learn’ project seeks to highlight what can be done when partners come together on a large scale to support a local community.”

“We’re incredibly grateful to East Riding of Yorkshire Council for helping to facilitate this building and to partners and corporate supporters who are assisting in the set-up of the facility, donating items such as unwanted office furniture and generally tidying up a disused community asset.  This incredible support goes to show the impact we can all have when we work together.”

The Hinge and Carers Plus Yorkshire will deliver workshops, timetabled sessions and outreach activities from the building.

The Hinge, which operates from two council houses in the Havenfield Estate, Bridlington, will be able to expand the raft of services it offers when they take on their second home on following some minor works.

Jo Sanders, who manages The Hinge, said: ‘’We are really excited to be joining the Crown Community. It will help us to extend our reach and to become more accessible to more people. There are a lot of people in Bridlington that need our support. We have moved from the covid crisis to the cost of living crisis and we want as many people as possible to know there is a door they can walk through, where they will be welcomed, listened to and hopefully get the support they need. We will be there five days a week offering lots of opportunities including one to one support and group sessions.’’

They currently run a food store, independent living skills classes for young people and adults with learning difficulties, after school clubs, job clubs and arts for health sessions.  Thanks to the enhanced facilities, there is also the potential for The Hinge to grow its services and plans include running a men’s lunch club, gardening sessions, and cookery courses

Brian Pickles, public health lead for social prescribing and asset based community development at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Repurposing of the building to enable local VCSE services to be delivered from a single site reduces inequalities and supports residents to access the support they need in one place whilst enabling the different VCSE groups to maintain their autonomy.

“It also provides the opportunity to empower and support the community by identifying what services residents need and value and providing a facility where they can be further developed by and for the local community.

“The building also enables reductions in cost to the VCSE providers and residents by co-locating services and enabling an accessible and collaborative approach to service delivery from all partners and service users with the potential to be explored more widely in other areas.”

Carers Plus Yorkshire, plans to host ‘Care for a Cuppa’ meetings to bring carers together to share experiences and hopefully find friendships.

Elizabeth McPherson, CEO of Carers Plus Yorkshire, said: “We hope this will be the start of something really special for unpaid family carers in the Bridlington area.  The power of bringing people together has never been more important when you are working through the ebbs and flow of caring for a family member, neighbour, or friend.  With the help of our colleagues from the Smile Foundation and others, we hope to see many carers working alongside us over the course of the next year.”

Smile’s own Community Development team will have a base at the centre, providing information, advice and guidance to emerging and existing VCSE groups in the area to help them become more sustainable.

Crown Community features a large, bookable space for groups and statutory services to deliver their activities including workshops and drop-in sessions.

The Crown Community will see the first services being delivered by partners in April with a formal opening event happening in early June.

If you would like to book this space or find out more about Crown Community, contact: crowncommunity@heysmilefoundation.org