Green Lane Centre case study

The Green Lane Centre was formerly a play centre that had seen better days. Its transformation into the hi-tech hub of an entire community occurred when the remit for the building changed and, thanks to some substantial investment, including funding from Yorkshire Forward’s Renaissance Market Towns (RMT) programme, so did the building itself.

Having been regenerated so impressively, the centre is now of service to both the local population and local businesses:

• Providing quality features – such as attractive and comfortable space, onsite access to digital media, conference and training facilities and parking.
• Offering an impressive range of activities that can be enjoyed by the whole community, including pottery and pilates.
• The high ‘green’ specification of the building sets a good example, and keeps down overheads such as heating.

The Green Lane Centre won the Regeneration and Renewal award for Neighbourhood Regeneration in 2009.

The original Green Lane Centre Whitby, with a population of 14,000, lies on the east coast of North Yorkshire. The Green Lane Centre, built in 1991, is perched up on the Abbey headland, and has spectacular views of the town and its seascape. It was originally a council owned play centre, run by volunteers. Whenever volunteers left, however, they were not replaced and so the centre went into decline.

Watch our short film about Green Lane Centre

How the project began

Eventually, the centre came into the hands of Whitby & District Voluntary Action, which later became part of Coast & Moors Voluntary Action (CMVA) who took out a 30-year lease from the owners, Scarborough Borough Council (SBC). In 2002, CMVA began a project to redevelop Green Lane Centre as a base for Whitby’s regeneration and community activities.

CMVA’s structure, management and funding

CMVA is a registered charity with a membership of over 60 local groups, and provides services for local communities. Together with a number of funding partners, CMVA has assisted with regeneration, training and creating a sense of community in those areas where they have been most needed.

Much of CMVA’s funding comes from North Yorkshire County Council and the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust. It also generates some income by letting office space and meeting rooms.

New facilities at Green Lane

A change of use after 2002

After 2002, the former play centre had already become the focus for a wide range of activity in Whitby (indicating a real need for improved  community space) including:

• Community learning – including meeting skills and event organising, as well as vocational training (such as health and safety at work and food hygiene)
• Family learning – neighbourhood learning in deprived communities; a learning ladder project; introduction to painting, etc
• Other types of learning – PACT meetings; LSP meetings; out-of-school activities; youth and family arts projects.

Why this project was deemed important

The centre’s location was deemed ideal, and the need to redevelop it had been clearly identified in:

• the Yorkshire Rural Community Council’s (now Rural Action Yorkshire) Quality of Life Survey
• the Whitby Strategic Investment Plan
• the SBC Local Investment Plan.

New facilities at Green Lane

The new plan for Green Lane Centre

The intention was to create a centre which was appealing, useful and inspiring to the local community. Green Lane Centre had now become the community’s hub, particularly for local voluntary and charity groups. However, given its modestly proportioned premises, it had now outgrown itself.

As well as overseeing the design of the centre, SBC consulted closely with the local community to ensure that it met with their approval and would fulfil their requirements.

When planning permission was sought with the intention of extending the building, SBC’s project management team felt that a complete rebuild would be more practical. The CMVA’s regeneration manager, together with the neighbourhood regeneration officer and the regeneration project delivery team from the
council, set about ensuring that the project was sufficiently well-funded for a successful
completion.

New facilities at Green Lane

How the project was funded

Funding was obtained from:

• Yorkshire Forward’s RMT programme
• the European Objective 2 Priority 3 programme
• the Learning and Skills Council Local Network Fund
• North Yorkshire Children’s Fund
• local fund-raising.

The new building

Click here to read how the office space was priced

How the centre is managed

CMVA runs the centre and co-ordinates the activities and services through the centre’s own business manager, centre co-ordinator, newmedia enabler, learning-development worker and reception staff. CMVA has secured additional funding from a range of sources to enable existing staff to provide additional services.

Just as it has done with similar centres elsewhere, CMVA has established a stakeholder group (autumn 2008). This comprises tenants, community members, session users (such as trainers) and staff. This group discusses the running of both the centre’s community and business activities.

Great features

The building has ‘green’ features such as geothermal ground-source heat pumps (for underfloor heating); a sedum (grass-like) roof; and sun pipes which bring natural light into the building. The hi-tech centre now includes eight office units varying from 177 to 360 sq ft; purpose-built vocational training facilities; a digital media suite; and a community resource centre with additional space for conferences, meetings and exhibitions.

There are separate business and community entrances, but the media suite is open to both. One advantage of the dual-purpose building is that people who visit for a social activity are often encouraged to consider taking some vocational training.

Key successes

• Green Lane Centre is impressive, and has raised local confidence and aspirations.
• The project has been excellent value for money.
• The community/stakeholder input into the design process has proved its worth now that the centre is open and operating well.
• The centre is supporting local businesses allowing them to continue to grow in a supportive environment.

Click here to read the key project milestones

Lessons learnt

• Contingencies should always be built into a project. Expect the budget to be greater, and the timescale to be longer, than calculated.
• Archaeological inspections (such as the one necessitated by the proximity of Whitby Abbey) are likely to be more extensive than anticipated.
• Stakeholders should be consulted at the very start of a project, to ensure realistic goals can be set. CMVA had little support to begin with, which could explain the six years it took to reach project completion.

Click here to read the financial summary

More about this success story

To find out more about the Green Lane Centre project, please visit www.greenlanecentre.co.uk

Alternatively, contact:
Sarah Fenwick
Regeneration Manager
Coast & Moors Voluntary Action
Regeneration Office
Green Lane Centre
Whitby
YO22 4EH
01947 602328
sarah.fenwick@coastandmoors.org