Saving the North East Restoration Club
Classic car charity in crisis needs our help
Since we last featured the North East Restoration Club in PC in 2023, the club has hit times of crisis. It’s been found that their base, a building in a former brickworks in Washington, Tyne and Wear, is contaminated by asbestos. The repair bill could top £250,000 – a crippling amount, which may very well spell the end for the club.
The club, which is run by volunteers and has more than 300 members, restores classic cars and is believed to be the only one of its kind in Europe – run as a charity as a space for members to get together socially and to restore vehicles.
The roof has been patched up previously with temporary fixes but it is now leaking heavily – and asbestos requires specialist removal. Vandalism has also caused substantial damage.
The club has launched an online fundraising campaign. ‘We’re in dire need,’ secretary Andrew Billington told us.
‘The roof is fragile and very old – parts of the building are about 100 years old.’
The club was formed in 1971 and bought the building after moving into it in 1973, which means it is wholly responsible for its own repair costs. The condition of the roof has made working conditions in cold months difficult, while water ingress has threatened ongoing restoration projects, with major leakage and an asbestos presence preventing members
from maintaining the site properly themselves, because the only funding the club gets is from membership fees.
Norman Rose, who has been a member for more than 30 years, added that it was a constant concern that the roof could succumb to extreme weather. ‘We’re always worry when there's a gale – if the roof was ever torn off it would close the club. We couldn't exist without
the workshops because our whole club is based on the fact that we restore classic cars.’
To support NERC or to become a member, search for North East
Restoration Club on Facebook. You don’t even need to own a classic of your own – you’ll be given a warm welcome and handed a spanner!