MEA House celebrates 40 years of supporting North East charities

One of Newcastle’s most iconic office developments is celebrating 40 years of providing affordable space for charities and not for profit organisations. MEA House, a five-storey building at Ellison Place in Newcastle city centre, opened in the early 1970s  to provide high quality, fully accessible office accommodation at competitive rents below market rate, exclusively for charitable organisations. As MEA House reaches its 40^th anniversary, it is still the only office accommodation block in the city to provide this service, and, in response to demand, has extended its criteria to enable selected local community interest companies, industrial and provident societies and other forms of social enterprise to rent space there. The building, which is owned by registered charity MEA Trust, provides over 26,000 square feet of office space, and includes a suite of meeting rooms on the top floor, offering panoramic views across the city. Fifty thousand people pass through its doors every year and it houses more than 16 organisations including CISV International, British Association for Adoption and Fostering, Action for Children and Newcastle Society for Blind People. MEA House has supported more than 50 organisations in its history. Many notable charities such as the Community Foundation for Tyne and Wear, St Oswald’s Hospice and Newcastle Council for the Disabled began as fledgling organisations in MEA House but later moved out as they grew in size and independence. One of MEA House’s very first tenants was Marriage Care Tyneside, which provides relationship education initiatives, marriage preparation services and relationship counselling. The organisation celebrates 50 years on Tyneside this year. Marriage Care administrator, Kathleen Anderson, said: “From the outset, MEA House has been the ideal base for our Newcastle branch, and we’d wholeheartedly recommend it to other organisations. It’s easy to find, with great transport links for our visitors, modern facilities, a choice of spacious meeting rooms, and a great network of support between charities and the staff who work here. “The competitive rent has been hugely beneficial to us over the years, and has eased the financial strain which all charities face. We feel very much at home here, as the community spirit and friendly atmosphere is very special, and we would like to congratulate MEA House on 40 years of providing a much appreciated service for the city.” MEA House has played host to a number of royal visits. Her Majesty the Queen officially opened the building, and HRH Princess Royal visited in 2001 to unveil a plaque in celebration of a £4.1m refurbishment. MEA Trust chairman Colin Seccombe said: “We are delighted to be celebrating MEA House’s 40^th anniversary, which is a huge milestone in the life of the Trust. It’s a great achievement for everyone involved, and reflects several decades of hard work, as well as the Trust’s ability to adapt to the ever changing nature of this sector. “We recognise that in today's economy, long term funding for most charities is simply not now available, and so we’re able to offer terms to suit every individual organisation’s requirements. Twelve or twenty-four month leases can be arranged with negotiable  lease break options, or we can organise a licence on more flexible terms – we are happy to help in any way we can. “We’ve recently broadened the criteria required to rent office space here, so that we can help as many charities and not for profit organisations as possible to thrive and continue their valuable work for people in need throughout the North East. “As we celebrate our 40^th anniversary, we are very much aware of the importance of listening to fresh ideas to continually improve MEA House, and so we are always pleased to hear from potential trustees willing to spare about six days of the year to build on the excellent support that we currently benefit from. "We also have an ongoing maintenance programme and have recently installed solar panels to ensure that we are as energy efficient as possible. The Trust is always researching ways to make the building the most comfortable, inviting, welcoming environment that it can be, to provide the ideal base for the inspiring work being carried out here every day.” For more information about MEA House, or about becoming a trustee, contact Ann Wynn, MEA Trust director and secretary on 0191 232 7783 or email [email protected]