Voices of Consett- Shauna

My name is Shauna, I am 18 years old, and I live in Leadgate I currently work at Building Self-Belief as a Level 3 Business Admin Apprentice which is based in Consett, we deliver programmes, projects, and training; all with the aim to build stronger communities by building self-belief. I particularly enjoy working on the community projects and the activities that involve arts and crafts.

I have lived in Leadgate my whole life, my mam and a lot of my family members also lived here or in the surrounding areas, so I’d say I know the area pretty well, however Consett’s past not so much. Before starting this project, all I knew was that the Consett Iron Company was an industrial business based in Consett founded in the 1860s and that the company owned coal mines and limestone quarries and manufactures iron and steel and how it was demolished in the 1980s. I do know that the closure of the steelworks changed the town – in some ways it was bad, in other ways it was good.

I think the town is a great place to be if you want to get out and about and see the countryside. There’s a great selection of walking routes around the area you can spend the day out at especially on a hot day you’ll see so many people walking, running and even cycling these trails.

One thing I hope for Consett is that more things get brought for us to enjoy, the countryside is great if it’s a nice day however other than that there’s not a lot to do. Newcastle and Durham may not be that far; however, it would be nice to not have to travel all the way to those places to be able to do something nice. Plus, Newcastle and Durham also may not be easily accessible to some as it is to others. Advice I would give to the young people is to go out as much as possible in the summer with your friends and family, go on walks or for a run, or on a bike ride, go to the river with your friends or take your dog, have a picnic! Just go and make the most of the countryside.