GETTING BENTHAM DEVELOPMENT TRUST GOING

Aims of the Trust:	To sustain and develop the mixed economy of the area with special emphasis on support for small and medium sized enterprises. To improve the built and natural environment for the benefit of residents and visitors. To improve access to, and quality of services for, the Community. To support other local voluntary organisations/groups.  To optimise community involvement in the economic, social and environmental regeneration process. The Trust developed a three-year plan of action starting in 1997. After much effort by local people the Trust was successful in attracting Lottery Funding to support the implementation of its aims - in 1997 money was made available to pay for part time staff and an office so that the local regeneration activities envisaged by this plan of action up to September 2000 could be supported.
The historical development of the trust and links with local authority bodies	The idea to develop a local regeneration group was first mooted in the early 1990s and the formation of a Development Trust was stimulated when the Civic Trust Regeneration Report Vision 2000 - the Benthams was produced in 1994. The Civic Trust chose Bentham as an example of a rural area in need of regeneration and carried out a very detailed and helpful study of the local opportunities, which subsequently formed the basis for many Grant Aid applications. A copy of this Report is available from the Trust on request, for a small charge. As with the setting up of most Development Trusts there were initial local difficulties with the concept and scope of a non-elected community Trust concerned with regeneration issues. However, Bentham Town Council members soon realised the advantages of a community-based Trust which was able to access additional funds and resources not available directly to the Town Council. There is now an excellent relationship between the Town Council and Bentham Development Trust's Board and staff. The latter are now very much seen as members of the local community and the Trust prepares a report on its activities each month for the regular meeting of the local Council. Trust staff and members of the Board attend Council meetings regularly as observers; Town Council members sit on the Trust's Board. Lately there have been an increasing number of joint projects.
Bentham Development Trust Staffing	Bill Kennedy and Lin Barrington are the two main staff; they both work part-time and have done so since 1995. In its first year the organisation also had a full-time director , but in 1997 the two part-timers took over all the activities involved in running the Trust. In total they work 55 hours a week. Bill and Lin with Hugh Rolo (centre) from the Development Trusts Association - Yorkshire and Humberside Office In the area of North Yorkshire, communities are looking for models for regeneration in rural areas. Bentham Development Trust was set up five years ago and now other communities in the region look to it as a role model of how to approach the problems relating to regeneration in rural areas. Bentham Development Trust has members from Craven District Council, North Yorkshire County Council, Bentham Town Council and Yorkshire Rural Community Council on its Board, as well as people from the local community. The county and local organisations have all been very supportive from the beginning; in particular Craven District Council and North Yorkshire County Council helped pay for office workers in the early days and also initially paid for the office premises. The work of the Trust has so expanded that an additional part-time administrator needs to be added to the core staff. As part of the 2000 Lottery Funding bid support has been sought for this additional member of staff for 16 hours per week.
Success in achieving the original aims	During this 3 year period many of the original aims of the Trust have begun to be realised: Miller's Court has been refurbished and is now used by Craven College to provide IT training the "Looking Well" art and community centre has been opened and deals with health and community issues the Tourist Information Centre and Bentham Development Trust share the same premises and successfully operate together in relation to many issues the Community Office has been established the Youth and Community Centre is now almost complete and will provide facilities mostly for young people, as well as meeting rooms for the public and for special activities the "Goodbenber" play area is now a well-used local resource. There are also plans to improve the Victoria Institute in Low Bentham. the School Hill Millennium Project (a new town square) is now nearing completion several other environmental enhancements are underway/under consideration.
The need for new premises	Being in the same building as the Tourist Information Office has brought all sorts of people into the Trust's Office who might otherwise never have come - this has helped to get the Trust and its work known throughout the area. The fact that the Office is used to look up bus and railway timetables and even to collect supplies of dog waste bags, has helped to make the organisation visible and given local people the chance of informal talks about the issues that concern them. This means that the Trust's staff have a very good and up-to-date idea of what is happening and what interests and worries people locally. The present accommodation is in this small building in the centre of High Bentham The workload of the Trust has meant that the present building has become inadequate. Since its location in the same building as a tourist office without doubt has been a major factor in the success of this Trust, the hope is that they will be able to move to other nearby accommodation together. However, it is not proving easy to find new premises. A grant has been made available for some time from the Development Trust Association's Asset-based Development Fund to enable the consultancy and planning for the building, to consider the possibilities and also to assist with the planning costs, but nothing has yet been found in the central part of the town (accommodation on the fringes is not seen as an option because of the need for close daily contact with as many local people as possible so that the Trust can really serve its local community). However, until it is known whether the organisation will obtain further outside funding for its continuation, this matter is not being pressed. The present Lottery Funding finishes in September 2000.
Craven Counts	The Craven Counts Regeneration Partnership was launched in 1998 by the Craven District Council - an area including Bentham. Click here to see more information. A survey was carried out of all the organisations in the Craven area. This provides the background information for " Craven Counts". There are four working groups, including oneon community facilities.