Weardale Together CIC

24/08/2026

Can’t go anywhere…on our respective family holidays, we ended up camping 3 miles away from each other! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Looking forward to welcoming our lovely customers back to Root & Branch Community Café this Thursday!

14/08/2026

I haven't posted a survey for a week or so! I know we get a bit fed up with endless consultations, so I'm going to keep them all in one post (for today anyway)

Another transport one! This is the Combined Authority's consultation specifically about proposals for a new Bus Franchising Scheme. Almost every conversation we have about living in Weardale with our lovely community features transport somewhere, and if we want positive change, we need to let the powers that be know what it's like trying to get to Durham, or Newcastle, or anywhere on a Sunday!

https://www.northeast-ca.gov.uk/consultations/haveyoursay

Another one I posted a little while ago is being carried out by partners including our very own Weardale Community Transport. ROUTES is a new initiative funded by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, looking at how transport can be improved across rural areas of the North East. The project is currently focusing on West Gateshead, South Northumberland and North County Durham, and they are gathering views to help shape the next phase of the project.

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=aKng34m4lUqjPyDLXnseB2wOPN5AqKNAoQfrVJxHrDtUNVdTMDRBMzA1WkZOVllCQUo2VFBSS0I4VC4u&route=shorturl

This one closes MONDAY 17th AUGUST and is a hugely important opportunity for people across the county to have their say in shaping the new County Durham Plan.
There are two ways to get involved; one is a shorter residents survey you can find here: https://placemaker.durham.urbanintelligence.co.uk/.../9%20/
And the other is a longer consultation for anyone with a bit more time to read the full scoping document and/or an interest in planning matters: https://placemaker.durham.urbanintelligence.co.uk/.../3/
For both surveys you have to register and create an account, but this is important for transparency and making sure all views are registered properly.
The deadline for responses is 17th August 2026, so there's still time to have your say!
As an area of County Durham that often gets somewhat overlooked, it's vital that Weardale gets its say in shaping this plan - so please take the time to share your views!

Through public consultations, we invite people to share feedback on proposed policies and projects that shape life here in the North East.

14/08/2026

🎉 Boring and exciting update all in one! 📝

When we set up as a Community Interest Company back in 2021, our official objects clause (the legal statement of what we exist to do) was written to reflect where we were at the time. It read simply as "activities which benefit the community, and in particular parents/guardians and children." It's still correct, but it doesn't exactly capture everything we've become since then.

We now run Root & Branch Community Café, our free craft programme Creative Roots, our Weardale Together Youth Programme, Roots and Shoots, and we're in the process of developing an exciting Forest School programme too. We've worked with hundreds of people across Weardale and we're more committed than ever to supporting a connected, creative, thriving community here in the dale.

So we're officially updating our objects to reflect all of that. Our new objects cover:

🤝 Promoting community cohesion and reducing social isolation; providing accessible spaces and activities where people of all ages and backgrounds can connect

🎨 Advancing participation in arts, culture and creative activity; removing barriers of geography, cost and confidence for rural communities

🌳 Developing and sustaining community infrastructure; supporting the long-term wellbeing and resilience of Weardale

📚 Providing educational and outdoor learning opportunities for children and young people; including through nature-based provision like Forest School

🏛️ Acting as an advocate for rural communities; brokering relationships between local people and the organisations and agencies with an interest in our wellbeing

Nothing about what we do is changing — we're just making sure our paperwork matches up with our ambitions! 😄

If you have any thoughts or questions about this, drop us a message — we'd love to hear from you.

02/08/2026

🎪 🌈 Come on down to The Curious Grouse and join us for a jam packed day of fun and music, face painting, alpacas, archery and more! There’s a dog show and musical acts throughout the day too!!

Come and say hi! ⭐️

01/08/2026

Come and say hello tomorrow at The Curious Grouse Summer Fun Fest! We're so grateful to Verdant Parks for choosing us as Weardale's charity partner, and we're looking forward to lots of fun tomorrow!

21/07/2026

We need your help to shape the future of rural transport in the North East!

We at Weardale Community Transport are excited to be a partner in a new and exciting project called ROUTES (Rural Optimised User-centred Transport Eco System) that's hoping to make it easier for people to access employment, healthcare, education, and community activities by developing more flexible, accessible, and demand-led transport solutions.

It's a new initiative funded by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority to improve transport options across rural areas of the North East.

The project is focusing initially on researching West Gateshead, South Northumberland, and North County Durham, working closely with local communities to understand existing transport challenges and identify gaps in provision.

By combining local knowledge with detailed transport data, the project will help develop practical solutions that meet the needs of rural residents. These could include community transport services, shared vehicles, accessible transport options, and demand-responsive services that complement existing public transport networks.

To ensure the project is shaped by those who use transport services, we are asking residents, groups, and organisations to complete our survey and share their views.

Please find the survey here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=aKng34m4lUqjPyDLXnseB2wOPN5AqKNAoQfrVJxHrDtUNVdTMDRBMzA1WkZOVllCQUo2VFBSS0I4VC4u&route=shorturl

We would also be grateful if you could share the survey with your networks, friends, family, colleagues, service users, and community members so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to contribute.

Your feedback will play an important role in shaping future transport services and helping create stronger, better-connected rural communities.

21/07/2026

Some photos from our Tom Waits for No Man & Support act Adam Millington event the other week. A great turn out and a great time 🥳
Thanks to all our helpers 💛🧡🩷

St Johns Chapel, in Weardale Co Durham
Tom Waits for No Man
Thanks to The Blue Bell Inn for stocking the bar!

18/07/2026

📣📣Another survey (I know!)📣📣

But when agencies and organisations work together to consult with our community, change is possible, and we need to share our views!

This one is about everyone in Weardale's favourite topic: TRANSPORT! 🚌 🚂

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=aKng34m4lUqjPyDLXnseB2wOPN5AqKNAoQfrVJxHrDtUNVdTMDRBMzA1WkZOVllCQUo2VFBSS0I4VC4u&route=shorturl

The ROUTES project is being delivered by Edge Innovation Ltd in partnership with Weardale Community Transport, Connected Places Catapult, Rural Design Centre, and Eco Car Club, and is funded by the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.

15/04/2026

We’re so excited to be working with Men's Pie Club and Weardale Methodist Church on this!

Our newest County Durham Pie Club kicks off next week in Stanhope, supported by Weardale Together CIC Scotmid Community and Weardale Methodist Church. If you or someone you know might fancy it, please get in touch or sign up through our website!