Organisation History

 Since it came into being in 2002, Syke Community Base has been though many changes. We evolved from “The Friends of Syke Pond” when a group of local people became a friends group in order to refurbish a large public pond which was built over 100 years ago on Cronkeyshaw Common, an area of open space covenanted by a local person to the people of Rochdale. The Friends of Syke Pond succeeded in gaining support for the project from the Chief Executive of Rochdale Council. In 2000 the Council provided the resources to ensure the successful completion of this project. Syke Pond remains a focal point for the community and received another make-over in 2020. We continue to support its upkeep. 

Once the work on the pond was completed the group continued to meet as they could see that work was needed to bring the community together. An “us and them” culture was becoming evident in the area and there was also a growing fear of crime. Young people said there was nowhere for them to meet and nothing for them to do. Older people felt the same and also cut off from services in Rochdale centre. There was no focal point in the area, which made it difficult to bring the community together – a community of primarily social housing and in the lowest 9% deprivation nationally. 

In 2001 the government introduced Neighbourhood Renewal Funding and as the area was seen as one of the 22 most deprived neighbourhoods in the Rochdale Borough, the Friends Group held a public meeting in a local school to discuss all the issues being raised by the community. The meeting was also attended by council officers and police. To reflect the makeup of those attending, the Friends of Syke Pond evolved into the Syke Area Strategic Partnership. The Partnership submitted their first successful bid for Neighbourhood Renewal money and being successful meant there was enough money to employ a development worker whose responsibility was to go into the community, consult with people and identify need. Through the earlier work of the Friend’s group there were strong relationships between the Council, the Police and other partner agencies. The membership of the Partnership Management Committee grew with more local people wanting to become involved. 

When in 2002 the Partnership’s committee decided to submit another bid to year 2 of the Neighbourhood Renewal Funding Programme, they drew up a “wish list”. This too was successful but not at the level of funding applied for. Another public meeting was called and the community were asked to prioritise the “wish list”. The response was unanimous - people wanted somewhere where they could come together, somewhere that belonged to them, somewhere activities for all ages could be provided. The Chair of the Partnership entered into negotiations with the manager of a local Industrial Estate to see if one of the units could be used as a community base and we have been known as Syke Community Base ever since. The first unit the Base occupied was A15 on the ground floor and through many later successful bids the Community Base grew to occupy all of the units on the ground floor of John Bright’s Mill. 2003 saw the partnership become incorporated as a Registered Charity (no 1110073) and Company Limited by Guarantee (Company no: 04971879). By 2008 the partnership was receiving £62k from the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme. To add to that fund, in 2006 the Partnership secured £19K core funding from Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (Rochdale Township Community Centre Fund). 

In August 2006 representatives from Government Office North West visited the Base and sent a follow up letter to Rochdale MBC saying: they were very impressed by the hard work and dedication of the people at Syke Community Base, as it had become a focal point for the local area. 

In November 2007 the £62K Neighbourhood Renewal money was under threat of being withdrawn from the Partnership, for the following financial year. The community joined forces and lobbied the Council for the funding to continue but the partnership was unsuccessful, so in March 2008 all the 10 employed staff both full time and sessional had to be made redundant. 

This did not mean the activities and services would not be provided. We managed to carry on through the support of volunteers, which continued until there was a clear financial position. The partnership continued to meet the overheads through a small one off grant from Rochdale MBC together with the £19k from the RMBC Rochdale Township. Then in June 2008 the Base was featured in a Channel Four “Secret Millionaire Programme” and Hilary Devey a very successful business woman gave the Partnership a cheque to cover the £62K they had lost. This was a wonderful opportunity to continue. Also, in July 2008 the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) confirmed that it would continue giving a percentage of the funding they had withdrawn. With funding now secured the partnership was back in business. Funders though commented that the organisations area of benefit was too localised and did not recognise the needs of the wider community, people living in the surrounding areas had many unmet needs and no community facilities. 

The organisation widened its area of benefit to cover the north of Rochdale and developed Syke Area Strategic Partnership into “The North Area Partnership” (NAP). This enabled the growth of the community it now served to be recognised. The Partnership continued to develop, change and offer facilities to meet the needs of children of all ages, young people, and adults. Facilities offered included an Information and Technology Centre (ICT Centre), a Healthy Living Centre with gym equipment and boxing facilities. Other activities included Water Colour Classes, Tai Chi, Yoga, Art Groups, Walk and Talk Groups and private bookings. NAP, in partnership with RMBC Children’s Services made a successful bid for money to change two of the Units into an Ofsted registered Pre School Nursery which also had a fenced area for an outside Play Area which opened in September 2010. It was not long after the opening of the nursery that changes in Government led to withdrawal of Neighbourhood Renewal Funding. This had a direct impact to the finances of the North Area Partnership, leading to a complete restructure resulting in job losses and rationalisation of the facilities and activities provided.

Due to gradual reduction in funding from various sources, reserves running low in 2014/15 and the threat of a large rent increase, the Partnership faced making the decision to close the Base. The Partnership left the legacy of the Nursery to Biz Space, their Landlords, who immediately rented it to a private enterprise so it now operates as a Private Nursery still offering places to local people. In accordance with the memorandum and articles of the Partnership, items of equipment were sold to cover removal costs and meet outstanding commitments, whilst other equipment was donated to like-minded voluntary organisations.  Once the decision had been made to close the Base at its current location, the trustees together with the one remaining member of staff began looking at other options to enable much needed services to continue to be delivered to the local community. They started negotiations with Syke Methodist Church. The church had been providing a range of activities as well as worship for most of its 150 years. However, falling numbers and a deteriorating building meant that closure was a distinct possibility. To keep the building open, the congregation decided to become a ‘community church’, electing to spend all its reserves on fixing the hole in the roof as a start! The church had employed the services of an architect to advise on building improvements and were considering plans to open up for secular ‘non – worship’ activities when the Base got in touch. For both Base and Church, coming together seemed an ideal solution, so in May 2015 the Base relocated at Syke Methodist Church, as two separate groups, bringing a range of different activities, equipment and people. This was a significant time for the Church and the Base in preventing both organisations from closure and guaranteeing both a positive future.

The early days of this partnership were not without some challenges as the church got to grips with a sudden influx of 350 local people a week and the Base re-adjusted to working in new premises lacking some basic essentials such as a working kitchen and central heating. The relationship between both organisations has gone from strength to strength.. Both organisations remain charities in their own right, with their own sphere of influence.  Whilst the Base focussed on the provision of services and activities, the church focussed on making the building fit for the community and over the last five years has raised around £500,000 for improvements. Funding from church and charity sources as well as our own fundraising events would not have been possible without the community use of the building from 9am to 9pm on five days a week by the Base. June 2021 saw the completion of a five - year programme which has followed the roof repair with new central heating, a new kitchen, new external rendering and a total internal rebuild providing twice the space, a modern, welcoming community building and good access for disabled or those with limited mobility. Over this same five - year period, Syke Base have become more successful in obtaining external funding from a range of different funders including the People’s Health Trust and National Lottery Community Fund. This is despite severe Local Authority cuts in 2018-2019, which caused the closure of some local community centres, and prior to lockdown placed us in a stronger position than before.

The Covid pandemic brought a number of challenges. The centre had to close but through a complex reconfiguration of the building refurbishment plan, major works were completed during closure and we are looking to re-open with a fabulous new building in July 2021. We were able to continue some of our work with the most vulnerable during lockdown, so we know the pandemic has exacerbated some of the issues. Loneliness, poverty and unemployment have all increased leaving a community less confident and less able to manage. One challenge will be to balance the previously requested activities with new forms of distanced links, new needs from long term isolation or meeting basic needs such as food and warmth.