Ellie's Celebration of Stanley
I never knew there was so much history in Stanley. I always thought it was just a random, boring town that had always been here. I did know a bit about the mining history because I live in Quaking Houses, which used to be a mining village. But, I had no idea about Stanley’s involvement in the FA Cup or anything like that. Learning all of this made me realise that Stanley actually has a rich and interesting past.
Right now, though, Stanley feels boring. It seemed like it had more spirit back then, and now people just think of it as a rough area. For the future, I’d like that to change. I think we need to bring back that sense of community that used to exist. We could do that by organising festivals, events, and things that bring people together.
“It’s a shame there’s no football ground or community space where people can go to enjoy themselves. Having something like that could really help rebuild community spirit and give people a reason to feel proud of Stanley again.”
- Ellie McGuire
Youth Social Action / December 17th, 2025
Celebrating Stanley / December 17th, 2025
'Celebrating Stanley 2025' - Heritage Project Film
A celebration of Stanley’s heritage, voices, and community. Over nine months, this project brought generations together to preserve local history and honour the town’s past, present, and future.
Consett Heritage Project / February 3rd, 2025
Designing a Steel Statue for Consett
On Tuesday 28th January, we hosted a fundraiser and design session to generate some ideas about what the community want the Ray Lonsdale statue to look like. We were very lucky to have renowned artist Ray Lonsdale with us, who gave a talk about his artistic journey and past designs, and answered all of our questions about his statues and how we should go about creating our own for Consett.
Exercise, Health and Nutrition / October 13th, 2023
Know Your Neighbourhood Project / October 13th, 2023
Benfieldside Community Garden / October 13th, 2023
Exciting News about our Community Garden
Building Self-Belief are delighted to be a new member of the the Social Farms and Gardens. We are in the final stages of securing our 25 year lease in Benfieldside Community Garden.