OUR CONSORTIUM
No More Nowt is one of 39 Creative People and Places projects nationally, funded by Arts Council England. We are hosted by East Durham Trust working in partnership and supported by Beamish Museum, Believe Housing and Durham County Council via the East Durham Area Action Partnership and Culture, Sport and Tourism Services.
East Durham Trust is a Registered Charity with a constitution based on the Social and Economic regeneration of the former Coalfield area of East Durham (the last pit having closed in 1993). The work of the Trust is largely based on the direct and indirect impact of poverty with projects and services including the management of the local foodbank to the provision of advice and support around debt. The Trust took over the role of lead organisation in 2018, novating the programme from former lead Beamish.
Beamish is the biggest visitor attraction in the North East, welcoming more than 800,000 visitors a year, pre-COVID, employing over 400 staff and working with 520 volunteers. Beamish involves local people in making decisions about how their history is represented at the museum. As part of its ambitious Development and Engagement Plan for 2013-2025, setting out how the museum will continue to develop and thrive, Beamish has started a £20M project to transform the site, telling the story of time periods in living memory. The scheme includes a complete 1950s town and farm, and an expansion of the 1820s area. Beamish were the initial lead organisation for East Durham Creates.
Believe Housing are the largest Housing Association in County Durham. They cover a range of different areas from the rural west, to Durham city centre, and the coastline in the east. Believe Housing have a longstanding commitment to supporting the communities where their properties are based through a broad range of initiatives. This has included supporting a number of projects led by the project lead East Durham Trust and other EDC community partners.
The consortium is supported by Durham County Council (DCC) via East Durham Area Action Partnership (AAP) and Culture, Sport and Tourism Services:
East Durham AAP – will embed the project within the East Durham Action Plan, linking to the community-based action groups that can influence funding. The AAP will play an important role in linking to councillors and local networks of community groups, assisting with community engagement activities and securing funding.
DCC Culture and Sport Services has an advisory role, connecting East Durham Creates with existing arts provision and networks, learning from past development projects and supporting the project to make longer term, sustainable change.