ONE COMMUNITY, ONE VOICE

From the time the Lukes Lane estate was built in the mid-sixties, there had been no official group to represent the interests of its residents.

Many on the estate had long felt isolated from the rest of Hebburn and over the years the estate had achieved somewhat pariah status, with residents elsewhere in the borough reluctant to move here and existing residents eager to move away. However, one finding of the recent participatory appraisal project, carried out on the estate with the involvement of local residents, found that there was a very strong sense of community on Lukes Lane. Time after time, residents responding to questions from the PA team about what they liked about the estate, cited the ‘strong sense of community’ and the friendliness of the people on the estate.

When the PA work was completed, local residents decided to organise with a view to addressing some of the many issues identified by the PA work - i.e. issues related to health, employment and safer streets - and to help make the estate a better place on which to live. The result was the formation of the Lukes Lane Community Group, with its motto: “One Community, One Voice” and with a remit to turn Lukes Lane estate from a community in itself and into a community for itself.

This may sound like so much soundbite, but the community group has been active – namely, in helping see the community house functions, setting up courses, organising events, attending and being quite vocal at the myriad forums attended by agencies, service providers and council departments, which are held regularly and in helping draw up an action plan to address the main issues identified during the PA work.

We have some great plans for the future – from holding a Lukes Lane summer fete to setting up a community market garden and shop that can provide fresh vegetables for residents, to the creation of a children’s clothing exchange. Of course these ideas are not exhaustive and neither can we bring them to fruition without the active involvement of others in the community. So we need you help! We need your involvement, your participation, your ideas. If, like us, you believe Lukes Lane estate can be really transformed and want to help put the unity back into our community, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Either pop in to meet us each Thursday at the Community House at 10.30 am, phone us on 4226915 or 4280056, or you can even send us an email to: lukeslane_cg@yahoo.co.uk