High Trees Community Development Trust

Organisational profile

High Trees Community Development Trust (HTCDT) was set up as a not-for profit limited company in May 1998, and registered as a charity in February 2000. The Trust was set up to encourage and enable individuals and small groups resident on St Martins Estate and neighbourhood to set up and run projects for the benefit of all sectors of the diverse community. In February 2000 High Trees CDT was given license to use the former St Martins Library Centre building as a Community Resource and Information Centre. A Centre Manager was employed from the middle of March 2000 and the building was in use by community groups and volunteers working for the Trust. Other organisations, including Lambeth early Years Development and Childcare Partnership and the Lambeth Womens Aid used, and still use the building at a modest rent. A survey of needs told the Trust that people in the neighbourhood wanted learning opportunities, especially in IT. A homework club, funded by Age Concern England and using 5 computers, quickly grew into a UK On Line Centre under the Combined Modernisation Fund scheme and the Trust became a significant training provider. As a member of the Credit Framework for Central London the Trust is also a member of London Open College Network and an approved centre for delivery of their courses. Accredited courses on offer included IT, ESOL, and basic skills. There are currently in excess of 500 visitors to our centre each month. The Trust has employed local people wherever possible and has played a major role in creating at least 10 jobs for local people.

Asset Base Programme

The trusts main asset is a former public library, owned by Lambeth Council and closed in April 1995. It was transferred with housing stock and nursery buildings to St. Martins Community Partnership (SMCP) in October 1999. SMCP handed over management of the library to the Trust in March 2000.
In addition, High Trees Community Development Trust has converted a former laundry into an IT centre with 12 PCs and computer recycling facilities. The CDTs approach to fund-raising is to find the fund that fits the project. In this way, the needs of the residents determine the nature of initiatives established.

Benefits

Benefits of the asset base programme for the organisation:

The new IT centre is generating significant income for High Trees CDT through a Service Delivery Agreement with Lambeth Adult & Community Learning
HTCDT is able to hire out facilities to other local groups at reasonable rates
Having an asset has enabled the Trust to make others aware of its work, as people would come to meetings, hire the space, etc.
Being situated on the estate and with good transport links has meant that the trust was able to maximise the use of its space.

Benefits of the asset base programme for the community:

The building has been brought back into use, and the community can access its services. Through its asset base development programme, HTCDT has contributed significantly to increasing the skills and employment of local people, and has supported a number of local projects by hiring out desk space and office services. HTCDT employs a total of 13 full & part time staff. A range of activities are run from the library including:

Employment support
Advice and guidance
Silver Surfers Club access to the internet for the over 50s
Homework Club
IT sessions for young people
A range of IT and ESOL classes

Lessons learned

Our advice to others thinking of developing an asset base is to focus work on an area where there is a need. Our biggest difficulty is ensuring long term sustainability and finding a new income generating asset. A number of things have gone very well for us during this programme, including the fact that the asset is in a good location, and is a well-used and well-liked space. It is also very well known from its former use as a library. Other things have not gone so well, including our effort to get significant capital to replace windows and solve the long-term problem of basement flooding; and our reliance on the landlord to get the lease agreement in place.

Contact: Julia Ajayi (Director)