The Sussex Community Development Association (SCDA) are based in Newhaven, a manufacturing port town which has worsening deprivation in a district of relative affluence.
The charity provides information, advice, guidance and activities to five hundred young people in the area through youth clubs and drop in services.
At the moment these are fitted in around the services provided for mothers and young children in the Community Centre building on Denton Island. The young people of the area have asked for some years to have a space of their own and SCDA applied to LandAid for some pro bono advice to move the project forwards.
Yesterday LandAid and Foundation Partners HawkinsBrown visited the charity to give them some free property advice on building a youth centre.
The architects looked at SCDA’s existing building and where the proposed building could go. They also discussed with Penny Shimmin (CEO of SDCA) what she hopes the building will provide for the community, and how it could make links with other services for young people in the area.
The project could also benefit from using recycled building materials collected by Veolia, who have a waste incinerator in Newhaven. Veolia and pro bono quantity surveyors Faithorn Farrel Timms were also part of the discussion.
In the afternoon the group met with five young people from the town to find out more about their ideas for the project. Left to right pictured above are: Billy, Lucy (SDCA Youth Worker), Allana, Aaron, Ewan (HawkinsBrown), Vinnie and George.
HawkinsBrown will now draw up a document with input from all those involved, describing the principles of the project so it is easily explained to others (such as planning authorities and possible funders), the timescales involved and the next steps to be taken to make it a reality.
To find out more about our pro bono programme, contact Pro Bono Manager, Elizabeth Pearson.