History
Hartlepool is a coastal town with a population of approximately 92,000 people. It was a significant port but this and the heavy industries in steel and shipbuilding have declined resulting in many of the problems associated with industrial decline including concentrations of poverty, ill health, disability and unemployment.
Durham Street Studio (the Studio´s original name) was set up in 1981 growing out of an identified need. Hartlepool had one of the highest levels of unemployment in the country, especially amongst young males and was a town with limited opportunities for young people. As a community resource it aimed to tackle some of the problems associated with high unemployment levels such as lack of motivation, loss of confidence, unreliability, loss of hope and crime. A group of volunteers built a basic 4 track studio and the project became a place where people could play and record. Recording sessions were run by a voluntary pool of engineers and in-house sound recording training enabled more people to become involved with the project. It became very popular and the project grew to have a 16 track studio, 8 track studio and rehearsal room and was run by four employees and a fantastic group of volunteers.
The project survived due to a wide range of grants but in 1994, despite its popularity, the revenue funding support required to run the organisation had run out. The four members of staff were made redundant and the project was in danger of being closed down. Recognising its value in the town, Hartlepool Borough Council put forward a small grant in a bid to save the project. The Management Committee used this to fund a three month post and a new manager was appointed. Sufficient funds were then found to keep the project going.
From Strength to Strength
In 1996 Durham Street Studio gained charitable status and became an accredited training centre with NCFE as the Awarding Body.
It was decided that that another way forward had to be found for the project to survive. The committee thought the answer lay in relocating the project to larger premises by developing a subsidiary trading company. This could be used to generate money to support the project rather than the continual reliance on identifying and obtaining funding.
Over the following two years, alongside keeping Durham Street Studio open, we managed to raise 1 million pounds to purchase and refurbish a derelict 100 year old former Baptist church building. Finding and converting this building is a story in itself including negotiating its purchase during a karaoke session in a pub, rats, asbestos and a bomb scare and our acoustic studio doors being dropped at Gothenburg docks. Despite the many challenges, we made it and opened on 1st May 1998 adopting the new title of The Studio.
