Find support at new home for charities
Support groups highlight new headquarters
CHARITIES have officially unveiled new headquarters at a health centre.
Support Staffordshire – an independent voice for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations – gave up the lease on Bank House, in St Edward Street, Leek, in summer 2020.
This effectively made the other charities renting space there, through Support Staffordshire, homeless.
Now most have found a home at Leek Health Centre and a new notice has been put up by the back entrance to highlight their presence.
Support Staffordshire’s North Staffordshire operations manager, Jill Norman, said: “Bank House had been a fantastic home for a range of local voluntary groups since Leek Town Council bought it for that purpose in 1978.
“Support Staffordshire, and its previous incarnations, including Leek Voluntary Services and Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services, had leased the building since that time.
“However, more than 40 years later, keeping a large, converted, listed building in good repair became too big a drain on charitable resources.
“Added to the 2020 lockdown with services either temporarily closing, people working from home, and technology hastening different ways of working and providing services, we felt we could no longer continue at Bank House. Fortunately, offices at Leek Health Centre were being advertised. “Four Bank House occupiers – Moorlands Voluntary and Community Transport; Borderland Voices; Staffordshire Moorlands Talking Newspaper for the Blind; with Support Staffordshire – all managed to find what they needed at Leek Health Centre.” Andy Collins, who co-ordinates Borderland Voices arts for health and mental wellbeing, added: “We were delighted to move with ‘old friends’ into such clean, comfortable surroundings close to the town centre.”
Jill thanked Sharon Critchlow, Rob Arnold and Tony Bowyer for their help during the move.
She added: “Lockdown meant that the move happened quietly and the new offices were not fully used straight away. Gradually services have got back to normal and this is a good time to publicly announce where we are.”
Keeping a large, converted, listed building in good repair became too big a drain Jill Norman