Our Community Centre is a 140+ year old former schoolhouse, a historic building serving the immediate communities of Framwellgate Moor, Pity Me, Newton Hall and Dryburn
The Community Centre is for all our community: whatever your age, gender, ethnicity or interests there are activities for everyone. There is disabled access for anyone who needs it. We are pleased to see the Centre back to the ‘usual’ number of regular attendees, with new groups joining us. Thank you for continuing to support the Centre.
Please note: to be added to the mailing list email framlochhistsoc@gmail.com
Click here for more details about the Local History Programme
New projects for 2026: The School house areas have been neglected recently and they are having an impact on the overall running costs of the Centre. With a group leaving us later this year it an opportunity to upgrade and revitalise this area which affects everyone attending the Centre. Notably the first floor lighting needs upgrading to LED units with energy saving switched controls and the first floor level power outlets need upgrading to energy saving and monitoring units.
Interesting news for Community Centre users: After a number of years, the Centre has decided to rename the halls and rooms used regularly. We have reflected on the area’s historical reliance on coal mining, hence the halls/rooms are named after local coal seams.
- The Dance Studio is now called Hall 1: Brockwell and Green Room is called Hall 1 Room: Tilly
- The Adult hall is now called Hall 2: Harvey
- The Youth Hall is now called Hall 3: Hutton and the Kitchen area is called Hall 3 Kitchen area: Victoria
Quick link to our weekly activities
Special thanks to all our volunteers on the day who helped with setting up, managing activities and taking everything down afterwards – it was a team effort.
Congratulations to Una Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer of DCC Home Ed Community hub, who has been awarded the 2025 Female business award. Una was winner in the ‘Services to Local Communities’ category. These awards are UK-wide, with over 800 female-led businesses nominated. Una’s group meet regularly at the Community Centre
Una, whose group meet at the Centre each week, says “the award reflects the value of the work being done locally, in community venues like this Centre, to create welcoming, inclusive spaces for children and families. The judges specifically recognised community impact, quality of service, and the passion behind the work, which very much feels like a shared achievement. Our work simply wouldn’t be possible without venues that like this one which believe in community-led provision and open their doors to it.”
Please check out Una’s website https://www.durhamhomeedcommunityhub.com/
Wellbeing Tuesdays 2026
Please come along and join us every Tuesday from 10am to 2pm – there is always a warm welcome, people to chat to, refreshments, creative activities and fun exercises – and helpful advice.
Further excellent news for Wellbeing Tuesdays which has received grants from our supportive partners – for more details see our Wellbeing Programme page. We can now announce that we have received another grant of £6,672 from Point North to be able to continue the programme into 2026
Please click here for more details
Message from Durham City Freemen Charitable Trust
A very big thank you for hosting the final event of the Charitable Trust on Monday. The photograph shows all the organisations (including the Community Centre) who were beneficiaries of grants from Durham City Freemen.
- Message from the Durham City Freemen Chair: I think the Community Centre is a tremendous asset and maintained to a very high standard, which is largely due to the trustees, staff and volunteers and I would like to take this opportunity to wish this organisation every success in the future.
Showcasing our Centre Activities
Karate classes at the Community Centre
Karate is a popular martial art which encourages good health, confidence, self-esteem and discipline in both the young and old alike.
Please come along and join our classes which take place on Thursdays and Fridays at 6pm, plus Saturday morning at 10am, you will almost certainly enjoy it.
- Karate can be practised by men, women and children. The instructors are Sensei Brian George Godan and Sensei Keith Moir Godan. Please contact
aikijujutsu2001@yahoo.co.uk or 07711 600571 for more information - Students can commence their training from as young as 6 years of age, because of insurance restrictions, up to senior citizens. Anyone who is in reasonable health can train and will enjoy participating in Karate.
- Karate has been established since the early 1990s and parents and teachers have continually report on the improvement in the behaviour of children who train regularly at Seishin-do Karate, because of our disciplined training structure focussing on behaviour and respect.
New opportunity
The Community Centre has updated some rooms to make them suitable for small conferences, teaching, mentoring, counselling and meetings. Each room contains WiFi, smart TV screen, whiteboard, tables and chairs which are easily configurable to your needs.
To find out more details or to take advantage of being able to book these rooms please contact the Centre 0191 3863356 (9am to 1pm Monday to Friday) or framyca@gmail.com
Durham City Freemen Charitable Trust
The Association’s Trustees were delighted to receive a cheque for £5,000 from Durham City Freemen Charitable Trust toward the upgrade of Centre facilities – enabling the purchase of a state-of-the-art smart screen. This will enable the Centre to take on more bookings from organisations which we have previously had to turn down. Trustees are extremely grateful to the Charitable Trust for this opportunity.
A new group have recently joined the Community Centre – Durham Home Ed Community Hub. We are delighted to greet them as a welcoming space for home educated children in the North East. 2025/26 has brought the development of even more partnerships with local teachers and organisations as well as welcoming more new families
Breaking news
The Community Centre will have new spaces to hire in 2026.
Hall 1 becomes available from April 2026 onwards
Smaller rooms are available in the School house for teaching, counselling, meetings or administration purposes in 2026
If you may be interested in long-term hiring of any of the Centre spaces please contact the Centre 0191 3863356 for further details. First come first served!
Charity Excellence Award
We are pleased to announce that our Community Centre has received the Charity Excellence Award for 2025
We are delighted to report that the Centre had a recent visit from Newcastle University NICRE (National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise) team. They reported that as part of our plans to future-proof the centre, the Trustees undertook a project to upgrade the energy and heating systems, and make the halls more sustainable. The Centre replaced its gas-fired boiler system with a hybrid heating solution, incorporating solar panels, air source heat pumps, and energy-efficient boilers.
Community Centre highly recommended by the National Lottery Chair
£1.5 million National Lottery boost secures the future of rural Community Spaces in the North
Kate Burrows, Chief Executive of Durham Community Action said: “We are delighted to continue our collaboration with The National Lottery Community Fund through the Community Spaces partnership. Volunteers and trustees running community buildings will continue to benefit from high quality support to become greener and more sustainable, enriching the places that local communities value.”
Our Community Centre was delighted to be invited to a prestigious event at Allendale Village hall as the only Centre in County Durham to receive a grant of £40,000 from the National Lottery (NL) towards our replacement heating system. Present were: Dame Julia Cleverdon (Chair of the NL Community Fund) and John Mothersole (Chair of the England NL Committee). Our case study (below) presented to the group attending was highly recommended and featured as one of only 3 awards made.
Case Study: Framwellgate Moor Youth and Community Association (FMYCA) has had a consistent focus on reducing the environmental impact of the building and its carbon footprint.
With support from Durham Community Action (DCA), and with funding from the Community Spaces Project the trustees were able to take key steps toward improving the energy efficiency and sustainability of the hall by installing a new heating system. These improvements have reduced fuel costs, enhancing financial sustainability, and increasing the building’s capacity to support the local community.
The trustees of FMYCA are now planning the next phase of development including improving the old schoolmaster’s building on the site to make it more energy efficient and suitable for extended use.
New heating system 2024-25
Supported by £40,000 from the National Lottery Community Spaces Partnership, alongside some additional funding, the improvements are reducing running costs and supporting the hall to transition towards net zero.
Also supported by £40,000 from the County Durham Resilience Fund, the improvements have made an impact on reducing running costs and supporting the hall to transition towards net zero.
In addition a grant of £5,000 from the Durham Area Action Partnership (now named as County Durham Partnership) helped to make this project a reality.
The project was not without challenges, including complex planning approvals and contractor delays. However, with strong community support and advice from Durham Community Action, the upgraded system now ensures that the halls are warm, affordable spaces for a range of visitors, from youth and wellbeing groups to dance and education classes. Please watch the video below to find out more.
Framwellgate Youth & Community Centre – NICRE
Please see our Quarterly newsletter
Regular groups attending the Community Centre
The new heating system is continuing to progress. In a major project such as this there have been some hold ups. However the new system has been commissioned and is already operating well. Any teething problems are being quickly sorted out.
We would love to have your support as a volunteer
Our Community Centre supports the local community – can you help us to do even more? If you have a few hours to spare each week please contact us to become a volunteer.
Our Community Centre supports the local community – can you help us to do even more? If you have a few hours to spare each week please contact us to become a volunteer. For further details please click here
Brilliant news for the Community Centre
Excellent news – Our Community Centre has been awarded Hallmark Quality Standard Certificates at Levels 1, 2 and 3 for the next three years to confirm that the Centre meets all Hallmark requirements and the Assessor appreciates that all the hard work and dedication of the committee which continues to make Framwellgate Moor Youth & Community Centre a well-used community facility. The Centre is one of only two Community Centres in County Durham to receive all three Levels of Certificates. Please check the Hallmark report
Hallmark 1 – Charity essentials and administration
Hallmark 2 – Legislation: safety, licensing, and maintenance
Hallmark 3 – Community/social awareness, forward planning and development
The Hallmark Certificates are displayed below
Isla Ballard is the Community Development Officer for Durham Community Action and she came to the centre to present the Hallmark Certificates to the Centre with Ken Gates (Chair) and Peter Sykes (Secretary) receiving them. The presentation was attended by other trustees (Jim Hubbard, Malcolm Blackwood and Kath Thomson) from the Centre.
Wellbeing Tuesdays – our wellbeing programme is on every Tuesday from 10am to 2pm. Please contact Carol (0191 386 3356), Wellbeing Manager, for more information on Monday to Friday mornings (9am – 1pm), or click on Wellbeing Programme link
The Community Centre has been selected as one of three organisations for local support this year 2023-2024. If you’re @CoopUK member or customer, you can give the gift of community spirit this Christmas.
Please donate to the Co-op Local Community Fund and they will match your donation, so causes like us will benefit! Find out more at coop.co.uk/givethegift
If you want to make a booking for your activity or a children’s party please see our Facilities page and speak to Jim or Carol at the centre (0191 3863356 / framyca@gmail.com)
The centre often receives ‘thank you’ letters from groups who have used the centre – we were particularly pleased to be informed about the success that the local WI group had.
Our Helpful Volunteers
A quote from the Tutor of one volunteer “It is fair to say that places like Framwellgate Moor Youth & Community Centre change people’s lives. Without kind people like you, we would not achieve any success with our students, and they would not develop as they could.”
Thank you to all our volunteers. To Mike, Dennis, Alan and Hayley who make running the centre so much easier. Being a volunteer is a two-way process – for the volunteer to learn or use skills they have and for the community centre to enjoy their contribution to the work being carried out effectively.
The Coronation Celebration event at the Community Centre on Monday 8 May was a wonderful event. It was great to see so many families with young children enjoying it. Thanks to Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Cllr Mamie Simmons and Cllr Mark Wilkes for their grant towards running the event.
The Association has recently received a grant of £2209 from County Durham Community Foundation to buy new IT equipment for our office – a much needed acquisition as the old equipment was making life harder for our employees who are now delighted that they can deal with your enquiries much faster for the benefit of everyone.
The Association has also received funding to expand our green agenda by buying rainwater butts and composting frames. Thank you to County Durham Community Foundation for their greening initiative which allowed us to do this. The plants in our gardens will flourish and make looking after them more environmentally sustainable. This is especially true for the Magnolia tree which was planted to commemorate the start of the reign of King Charles III. See the News & Social page for more details
In preparing for a wonderful Summer of sunshine, we are looking for volunteers to assist in keeping the Community Centre gardens colourful and tidy. If you have an hour to spare from 10am onwards on the first Tuesday on each month, we would love to see you, please contact Jim or Carol on 0191 386 3356.
Click on this link to see the work towards our green credentials
The Trustees of Framwellgate Moor Youth & Community Association wish to express our support for the Ukrainian people. If you are able to donate, there are many reputable charities who are willing to receive donations to support Ukrainian refugees.
Can you help please? We are recompiling the history of the centre. Do you know any ‘little gems‘ of information about the building. Please send via framyca@gmail.com
We are pleased to note that groups can meet again in the centre.
Our Community Centre
Hello Friends & Residents,
The Community Association continues to adhere to Government guidelines, which means that users now have the choice of whether to wear a mask indoors. Most groups have returned to the centre post pandemic.
Our Centre Manager, Jim Pendrey and Assistant Centre Manager, Carol Callum, work in the office each morning (9am-1pm) Their office door is to the right of the main front door, at the side of the building.
We hope you continue to look after your physical and mental wellbeing and we look forward to welcoming friends old and new to the Community Centre as we expand our classes, services and commercial activities once again throughout 2025 and beyond.
Hallmark certificates are above
To learn more about our the Centre’s Heritage please click here.
You may wish to meet our Trustees or read our Chairman’s Welcome please click here