Members appointed to Youth Board to help shape Common Room development

Ten members of the North East business community have been appointed to a Youth Board to help shape the re-development of one of Newcastle’s oldest institutions.

The Common Room, which has taken over the Mining Institute in Newcastle, is leading a £7.1 million transformation of Neville Hall into a building that will celebrate the region’s engineering heritage and provide event, workshop, lecture and training space.

The Youth Board, who are aged between 20 and 30, bring expertise in fields ranging from digital construction to marketing and education. As well as supporting the development of The Common Room, they will also gain skills in governance, financial management and project management.

The new members of the Board include Alexandra Anslow, executive assistant and programme co-ordinator at Dance City; Alice Hanby, collections and engagement officer at Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum; Jane Hibbert BIM team manager at NBS; at Andrea Hillery, programme manager at Common Purpose.

The group is made up by Adam Leonard, mechanical fitter apprentice at Caterpillar Articulated Trucks); Stevie Jane McLaughlin, continuous improvement engineer at Tharsus; Charlotte Murray, admissions manager at North East Futures UTC; Jennifer Scullion, PR and marketing manager at Tolent; Phil Scott, head of software development at NBS; and David Treleaven, CNC machinist apprentice at BEL Engineering.

Liz Mayes, chief executive of The Common Room, said: “We’ve appointed young people who have experience in a range of areas of North East business and industry.

“The Board will directly influence decision-making as we work towards creating a space which will celebrate our region’s engineering achievements, and which will also inspire the next generation of engineers and innovators.

“A huge part of our aim with The Common Room is to help develop the skills of the next generation of North East engineers, so it’s vital that younger members of our business community are involved as we shape the project.”

In November 2018, The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded £600,000 to The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers to undertake an extensive development phase.

In July 2018, The Common Room of the Great North was awarded £4.1 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund to revitalise the Grade-II listed Mining Institute, transforming it into The Common Room.