Fleetwood Trust was formed as a charity in 2018 by trustees with connections to the local community.
A significant proportion of the Fleetwood community felt they did not have a say and were not able to change the narrative around their town and their future, so it was for this reason the individuals who formed The Fleetwood Trust came together,' Wilkinson said.
Not long after the trust's formation, the trustees purchased a derelict cottage hospital to provide services for the local community.
The scheme was part of the ‘7 For 70' project launched by The Prince's Foundation to honour King Charles III's (then the Prince of Wales) 70th birthday.
The former cottage hospital, now known as The Hub, provides easy access to a huge number of services addressing health inequalities and the wider social determinants of health.
‘We wanted to bring the services to the people who were hard to reach,' Wilkinson explained.
‘Transport in Fleetwood is difficult. It's not on a train line and the nearest hospital is six miles away.'
Tenants include a food bank, an NHS outpatients' department, Regenda Homes housing association, Macmillan Cancer Support, a counselling service, a men's health group, the Healthier Fleetwood community group and a youth hub, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and delivered by Fleetwood Town football club, that provides access to mental health services.
Other services include The Thrive Hub, which offers health checks, wound care, sexual health, as well as recovery services for people with addictions.
In addition, Blackpool and The Fylde College provide education for young school leavers in an area with high numbers of NEETS.
‘I spoke to the college, badgered them, corralled them, and said education is the biggest thing for us in Fleetwood,' Wilkinson explained.
‘They just had to make it work because our nearest sixth form college is in Blackpool. So obviously you've got kids that were leaving school who either could go to sixth form because they were really motivated and had family that wanted that and would support that, or they just left school because there wasn't another option.
‘The college is phenomenal and we're looking to expand that provision through Pride in in Place.'
The Hub also runs a community café staffed by volunteers with learning disabilities that Wilkinson said had been a ‘game changer'.
‘It's brought a lot of people in from the community who need support or just want a coffee,' she said.
‘It's also provided a meaningful experience for our volunteers and given the community a better understanding of people with a learning disability.'
Other services include domestic violence advice, a free launderette and a training kitchen offering food and nutrition to elderly people living alone, as well as veterans.
Community groups using The Hub include the Salvation Army and Lancashire Police.
The Hub neighbours the community's local health centre which houses The Mount View GP practice run by trustee chair Dr Mark Spencer.
Wilkinson said the trust could be open to The Hub and Dock Street Health Centre being combined under the Government's neighbourhood health plans in the longer term.
Watch this space.
