Durham Riverside Renewal

A group of fundraisers have swum, cycled and run to bring the cashing rolling in to help fund a minibus for the Waddington Street Centre in Durham.

The independent North East mental health charity is marking its 40^th anniversary with a series of money-generating activities and events to raise £40,000 for the vital transport.

A team of keen athletes from the centre has taken part in a long-distance triathlon in Seaham, which generated £1,526 towards the appeal, which so far stands at more than £22,000.

The 40km course comprised a 1km swim in the harbour, a 29km cycle ride around the outer limits of the town, and a 10km run from the harbour and back.

Assistant manager Steve Wakefield, finance officer Claire McGrother and centre member David Davies undertook the running stage while Trustees David Shipman, Jeff Dean and his partner Annette Morris, and David Shipman tackled the cycling leg with housing co-ordinator Sam Mason and her friends Georgina Fuller and Maria Davies doing the honours in the swimming section.

The weather was kind – being calm and sunny – and did not add a further level of difficulty to completing the tough challenge.

Other events planned to help the Waddington Street Centre achieve its fundraising target include a sponsored walk and an entertainment and quiz evening in October, which will feature, among other activities, a chilli eating challenge.

Centre Manager Ali Lee said: “We chose Seaham for this fundraising activity as it is a location close to the hearts of centre members, who love a trip to the seaside.

“Future visits to the coast and outings to other places will continue to be possible with the purchase of a new minibus.

“These are an important part of what the centre can offer as many of the people we support are socially isolated and can struggle to use public transport.

“We are pleased that our money-raising endeavours have attracted the support of the public and local businesses, who appreciate how getting out and about can significantly improve people’s mental wellbeing.”

The Waddington Street Centre is working with a number of local businesses to help with the fundraising, including the developers of Milburngate, which in conjunction with contractor Tolent, funded and completed a makeover of the centre during lockdown.

Allan Cook, managing director of Arlington Real Estate, the joint venture developer of Milburngate, said: “Competing in a triathlon is no mean feat and the Waddington Street Centre team, which took on this tough challenge, deserve high praise.

“The centre is doing sterling work by providing a wide range of informal education activities and support services to people in the surrounding community.

“Arlington Real Estate and Milburngate are proud to support such a fantastic facility.”

The centre has set up a fundraising page where people can make donations at

www.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/Waddys40thAnniversary

For more information about the centre visit: https://www.waddingtoncentre.co.uk/

ENDS

NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF DURHAM RIVERSIDE RENEWAL

For further information contact Jamie Collis 01325 363436

Editor’s Notes:

Durham Riverside Renewal

The development consortium consists of Arlington Real Estate and Richardson.

The project includes the regeneration of Freemans Reach and the redevelopment of Milburngate House, which are on adjacent banks of the River Wear in the heart of Durham City.

According to the Sunday Times’ ‘Best Places to Live’:

“Durham is a lovely place to live. Beneath its glorious cathedral, you’ll find pretty cobbled streets stuffed with little independent shops and great watering holes, a beautiful river that carves its way through dramatic walls of rock and greenery, and some attractive house stock – along with a thriving buy-to-let market, thanks to all those students. One of the nicest places to live is South Street, which looks directly onto the cathedral and castle, and which inspired Sir Walter Scott. Many of its terraced houses are grade II listed; prices range from £400,000 to more than £1m.”

About Arlington Real Estate

Arlington Real Estate is also delivering another flagship County Durham development, DurhamGate. Located five miles south of Durham City, DurhamGate is on the site of Black & Decker’s former UK headquarters and, at almost 100 acres, it is among the largest regeneration projects in the North East of England

About Richardson

Richardson is a multi-generation family business with over half a century of real estate experience in the UK and overseas. Working across all sectors, they have developed well in excess of seven million square feet of property. Recent projects include Nickel, junction 28 off the M1, a new spec build 261,000 sq ft warehouse, Western 105, Avonmouth, a new spec build 105,500 sq ft warehouse, Freemans Reach, a 110,000 sq ft office development in Durham, Lincoln Gateway, a £28m, 519 bed student accommodation scheme. More recently the family has continued to expand its operations by building an international growth capital portfolio across a range of sectors through a direct and co-investment programme.

About Tolent

Tolent was formed in Tyneside in 1983. Since then we have amassed a huge variety of projects encompassing all types of building and civil engineering work in the public and private sectors.

One of Tolent’s greatest strengths is its versatility which enables us to deliver efficiency and excellence in projects of all sizes, whether they’re repair works valued at £5,000 or a £100 million contract for a flagship development.