The journey so far

From a derelict shell to a state of the art community hub, Lescudjack Centre has come a long way in 16 years.

Opened in May 2002 by Bob the Builder, Lescudjack Centre is a project that aims to enhance the lives of children and families by raising self-esteem, inspiring hope and providing vibrant and creative opportunities to reach their potential. Now, after 16 years, it offers nursery facilities, a dental surgery, activity spaces as well as training and meeting facilities, rentable on a daily basis.

“We joined up with Trelya as we were so impressed by the work they do with children, and we are all about the children.”

In 2005, Lescudjack became the first fully operational Children’s Centre in Cornwall. Then, in 2007, the Children’s Centre program was taken over by Cornwall Council. Children’s Services for the area began operating from the centre, which allowed it to become a place for the whole community rather than focussing solely on families with children under five.

Seven years later, in 2015, The Lescudjack Centre and Trelya amalgamated and then in 2016, due to funding cuts, the local authority moved out, giving Trelya the opportunity to bring together all of its youth services in one facility.

Trelya identifies itself as a charity that helps young people and families break the cycle of social and economic deprivation. Former Lescudjack Chair, Carol Bosworth tells us: “We needed to re-designate the operations to the community. We joined up with Trelya as we were so impressed by the work they do with children, and we are all about the children.”

To fill the funding gap left when the local authority moved out, Carol, now Trelya Vice Chair, continues: “We repurposed the office space into a multi-use facility, and upgraded the infrastructure to appeal to users of the building, including organisations and businesses looking for daily rental space. We have excellent communications and state of the art high-speed WiFi throughout the building, and the whole place is fully accessible with lift access to the first floor.”

Speaking with Brian Wooller, Treyla’s Director of Finance, we’re told: “The flexibility of being able to rent the facilities helps generate funds to support our youth programs. We encourage community-based organisations, and provide preferential rates for them, but we are available to all. In fact, we have a diverse group of users of the building, from running and other exercise groups, to computer training courses,
business development training and speed awareness courses!”

If you would like to rent the facilities and support the work of Trelya, or you’d like to find out more about the invaluable work this amazing charity does, be sure to contact the team.

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Susie Tate from Slimming World, which operates four different groups throughout the week at the Lescudjack Centre, says: “The staff at The Lescudjack Centre are great, and our members love coming here!”