Niamh McDonald - Consett Heritage Podcast
Niamh volunteers with Building Self-Belief as a member of their Youth Panel and is also studying towards a Masters of Planning at Newcastle University. Niamh has been able to support projects run by BSB and add both a professional and personal perspective on a whole host of projects. She understands the connections young people forge to places and spaces, and why it is so important that they are well served by public spaces and projects. She was delighted to win the Nuclear Institute's Young Generation Network's North East competition on behalf of BSB, speaking about empowering community voices and the part they should play in community projects and planning.
Self-Belief and Emotional Wellbeing / June 15th, 2026
Youth Social Action / June 15th, 2026
Wellbeing and the Arts / June 15th, 2026
Stargate Pit Disaster, Crookhill Primary School / June 15th, 2026
'Was the Sacrifice Worth It?'
This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. This moving poem focuses on the perspective of a mother questioning the terrible cost of sending her sons to work in the mines after losing them in the disaster.
Youth Social Action / June 15th, 2026
Wellbeing and the Arts / June 15th, 2026
Stargate Pit Disaster, Crookhill Primary School / June 15th, 2026
'Two Hundred Years Later'
This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. Created for the 200th anniversary commemorations, this poem looks at how the Stargate Pit Disaster is still remembered today and how the lives lost continue to be honoured by the local community two centuries later.
Consett Heritage Project / February 5th, 2024
Voices of Consett - Sadie (The Bra Lady)
Before earning the title of "Sadie the Bra Lady," Sadie Ayton worked in the steelworks following her school years. She initially found employment at Richmond's the Solicitors before transitioning into the role of a 'Ticky Woman,' collecting credit payments by visiting houses.