Gateshead Redheugh (1957)
Club History and Current Situation
Redheugh Boys Club was founded in 1957. Since our inception, we have had 3 bases, the latter of which was old Rose St School, Teams which we used for approximately 30 years.
This building was demolished in 2006 because it was beyond reasonable repair.
That clubhouse catered for our needs over an extensive period but as the club has developed, our target audience has widened to girls football as well as mini soccer. This expansion meant we needed to relocate. We now occupy bigger premises and our new location is Eslington Pavilion, Eslington Park, Teams. This is a temporary home.
The building is slightly bigger and more suited to our outdoor needs but as a club which provided indoor activities as well as football e.g. pool, snooker, table tennis, badminton and indeed a social area for refreshments, we find we are not now able to provide some of those club activities. This arrangement clearly detracts from the wider service we always aim to provide our club members. The Rose St school premises provided club managers with office space cum trophy room, a physio/treatment room and storage.
These facilities provided a focal point for parents to meet and club members to mix.
Our new location was originally built as changing facilities for local football teams of all ages and was mainly used at weekends.
Since the club moved from Rose Street, Eslington Park has been used 7 days per week, each evening and all day Saturday and Sunday even though this does not at this time meet our requirements as a social/sports club.
Until recently, Gateshead Redheugh (1957) as a registered charity was run solely by volunteers.
Over the past few years the club has been working toward getting new premises on the Eslington Park site. Our vision being to reinstate all the activities the club is renowned for and hopefully to develop more activities involving more local groups (diversification).
We are keen to expand our user base to include asylum seekers and other community based groups so that the facility is not just a football initiative but a valuable and all embracing community asset.
Recently the club was approached by Tyneside Cyrenians, Gateshead Council, Four Housing Group and South Tyneside Council who were looking for a site to develop an initiative whereby sport, as an axis provision, could be utilised to help and encourage Cyrenian service users to develop and get their respective lives ‘back on track’.
This is a never before used initiative which can hopefully act as a template for future such enterprises throughout the country.
This is a unique project opportunity which Gateshead Redheugh wholeheartedly embraces.
Through grant funding, it seems very possible that a new club will be built in the next two years. The building itself will consist of a 20 bedded hostel attached to a gymnasium, social centre/ association space, clubhouse and changing rooms. A significant expansion from what we, as a club, have been battling with for several years.
This means that club management has necessarily to change to accommodate the progress. The club has thus become an employer for the first time in our history.
We will always be predominantly run by volunteers but the proposed establishment seems likely to need several permanent (payed) members of staff to cater for general day to day management of a much bigger facility.
Terry Ritson has just been appointed Sports development officer and general manager. Formerly club chairman, he had to move aside in line with the club constitution. An employee cannot be member of club management/executive.
The club executive :
Wilf Reed - Chair
Michael Hughes - Club Leader
John Anderson - Assistant Club Leader
Peter Featherstone - Club Secretary
Les Stokoe - Treasurer
Lar Riley - Child Protection/ Club welfare Officer
It seems very likely that other existing Redheugh Staff will be invited to join the executive as the workload inevitably expands.
As we speak, the juggernaut that is moving this project along is gathering momentum. Our partners and ourselves are currently developing a portfolio which will eventually lead to securing enough funding to demolish Eslington pavilion and build a new state of the art club for Gateshead Redheugh. When this happens part of our vision will have been realised. As club we would see this as a starting point and an opportunity to move onto more exciting and challenging goals for our club and community.
