Penny Lane Not Just Any Lane.
     | Penny Lane – Liverpool is the most famous lane in the world, immortalized by the Beatles when they recorded the song Penny Lane. The ground which the Penny Lane Development sits within, has a huge history and is steeped in culture. It is famous for the Grove Mount Playing fields, home to the once famous Liverpool Schools Boys FC. Home to the playing field in which John Lennon and George Harrison one played sports. Today the grounds have been secured for the foreseeable future (99yrs) In fact. Our story starts in 1998 when the School Boys left the hallowed Penny Lane Fields to venture in to pasture new. The land was designated prime land and was due to be sold to housing developers. A group of local people came together and set up a paper campaign to save the fields forever. How many groups have set up a campaign and after 12 months of battling they gave up? Our group battled for 13yrs to save this field. We became a reg Charity and a Limited Company by guarantee. The board members were from the local community and we all had the same vision. Sir Paul’s brother Mike even sent a letter of support saying that we can’t lose yet another iconic Beatles site. Stating that Penny Lane was not just any lane! The trustees took this comment on board and with a little help from our friends we trade marked the “not just any lane” and made it copy right to PLDT. n 2008 the council finally agreed that we could have a lease on the designated section of the lad for 99yrs. The Trustees gained a capital grant from Central Government to refurbish the disused, burnt out building. There was no funding for staff or activities, just the refurb. The journey has been fascinating and exciting, but also very hard. We have had our fair share of peeks and troughs and many mountains to climb. In 2010 we opened the doors to a beautiful Community Centre. Our core activities include delivering a range of Health& Wellbeing classes to the local community. We host events, and socials. Before long the many Beatles visitors started to arrive. We did not have anything to offer the visitors. Bit by bit Beatles fans were donating some wonderful artifacts, posters, records and the like. Our main office is now a small unique gift shop. Many of the items we sell our made locally. Thus, supporting our local artist. Technically we are not recognized as a tourist destination. But that does not stop the visitors from coming. We have been in operation for over 10yrs now and have grown into life on the lane. We have made friends from all over the world. The Centre operates to serve local people and visitors. The visitors love to see what we are doing and want to get involved. We have many of our visitors who make regular donations to the trust as they feel like they are a part of the family and want to see this hard-fought project go from strength to strength It is lovely to see many of our friends returning year on year, to see their families growing up when once they were boys. We are seeing young children who love the Beatles come through the door……… If you have never been to Penny Lane and been in our Centre then you can keep in touch via our FB page. ( Penny Lane Development Trust) We are a very small but dedicated team who keep this amazing project alive. If you can make a small donation to help us on our way, we would be most grateful. In return you will receive an E- Certificate of appreciation. As we always say, “Every Penny Counts” Thank you all in advance. My kindest regards A founder member of Penny Lane Development Trust Julie Gornell Senior Charity Officer |
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