Our Present Situation
Jetty Lane Site
These are particularly challenging times for our Charity. Our actual Centre is not built yet and funding opportunities have, quite rightly, been diverted to provide support to charities dealing with issues arising from the coronavirus pandemic and cost of living crisis. Construction costs have gone through the roof and some materials have very limited availability. With fuel and food prices increasing, many people have less money available to donate to charity and fewer people seem to have time to volunteer for charity - this is all bad news for us!
Nevertheless, we believe that people have become more aware of the importance of community, and, as we enter an economic recession, the need for a Hub providing accessible well-being and leisure activities will become even more important. This is a dynamic time for Jetty Lane. We are re-thinking our plans for the site and changing our design to make the construction smaller, less costly and quicker to build.
Following the generous donation of 2 recycled shipping containers by businessman Eric Reynolds, Jetty Lane already has a tangible presence on the site. The containers, with their distinctive porthole windows, contribute a modern, maritime feel to their surroundings.
Just42, the children’s and young people’s charity have their offices in the portacabins on site and run all their activities throughout East Suffolk from this base. The country’s first Vintage Litter Museum is at Jetty Lane in one of the blue containers while The Pod, in the other container, is available for hire by community groups.
Our new plans for the Youth Hub involve building a modern, purpose-built, two-story accessible building which will include a permanent home for Children and Young People’s charity Just42, a permanent home for the Vintage Litter Museum and a good-sized Hall which will be available for multi-generational and young people’s groups to hire by the session. Outside there will be a publicly accessible Playscape which will be specially designed to meet the needs of neurodivergent children and their families.