The community hub is designing the garden so locals can sit in to remember their loved ones
Fire damaged caused to the memorial garden at Springwell Community Hub(Image: Chronicle Live)
A memorial garden has been destroyed by vandals in a suspected arson attack. Springwell Community Hub in the Springwell area of Gateshead is creating a community garden which local residents can sit in to remember their loved ones.
Centre Manager Lisa Loan, 43, was angered when she discovered that four youths had started a blaze in the outdoor space. She said they set fire to wooden pallets and placed a memorial bench, which was dedicated to a former resident, on top of the fire.
Police say they are treating the incident, which occurred on Sunday afternoon, as suspected arson. Lisa told ChronicleLive: “I was absolutely foaming. I can’t seem to process why they’d do it.
“The community centre is in the middle of a street surrounded by houses. They were brazen to do that knowing there’s all these houses around them. It makes you think what on earth has it come to.”
Northumbria Police is treating the incident as suspected arson (Image: Chronicle Live )
Lisa, who lives on the Springwell Estate, said she was told about the fire by a local resident. She said: “I got a phone call at about four o’clock on Sunday to say that four youths were in the garden and they had set fire to some pallets.
“They put a memory bench on top of the fire. They recorded it as they were walking away from the fire.
“I told the resident who rang me to ring the police and the fire brigade. I came straight to the community centre and put it on the Springwell Community Centre page.”
The hub started creating the memory garden at the beginning of April. They have already had people dropping rubbish at the bottom of the garden and throwing bricks into it.
Centre Manager Lisa Loan(Image: Chronicle Live)
Lisa said: “I’m trying to do good and then I just get knocked back. Every time I make progress there’s something else so I’m back to square one. It just sets you back at little bit.
“Everyone around here has lost someone and loved someone. This was going to be a little place for people to come, especially those who can’t commute. They can come here and sit and think of them here rather than paying the expense of travelling.”
SJ Waste Clearance, who are based in the Cowgate area of Newcastle, has voluntarily took away the charred wood which was left following the fire. They are currently removing the rubble and helping to clean up the garden.
Am online fundraising page has also been set up to help the community hub to repair the garden. More than £500 has already been donated to the Go Fund Me page.
Lisa added: “It’s absolutely amazing. It just shows you that people do care. It gives you the reassurance that people are on board and they have the same view – that this is wrong.
“I want to make it vandal proof so that it can’t be damaged. We will do what we can with what we get. Whatever we get, it will be used.”
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “At 4.30pm on Sunday (May 10) we were alerted to a report of a fire at a premises on Lanchester Avenue in the Springwell area of Gateshead. Officers attended the scene and thankfully no-one was reported to have been injured in the incident. While enquiries are at an early stage, the incident is being treated as suspected arson.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the force by sending them a direct message on social media, using the live chat and ‘report’ function on their website or calling 101. Please quote reference number: NP-20260510-0685.
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