Civic Head drops in on Wansbeck Community Links as Town Council grant boosts cancer peer support
Ashington's Civic Head, Cllr Caroline Ball paid a visit to the weekly Wellbeing Wednesday session at Hirst Welfare Centre, Alexandra Road, to meet the team behind the group and hear how a grant from Ashington Town Council will help local people affected by cancer.
The session is run by Wansbeck Community Links, a small team of Community Link Workers (social prescribers) employed by Cygnus Support, a local counselling charity working in partnership with Wansbeck Primary Care Network. Alongside one-to-one support for patients of the Seaton Park medical group, the team runs a full programme of free community activities open to everyone — helping to reduce health inequalities and social isolation across the area.
The Civic Head's visit coincided with some unusual guests, with attendees enjoying close encounters with a fox and an albino hedgehog — much to the delight of everyone in the room.
In Ashington, the team currently runs the weekly Wellbeing Wednesday session at Hirst Welfare, a weekly Walk and Talk from Seaton Park GP surgery, Writing for Wellbeing at Ashington Library, an adult Lego group at Hirst Welfare, and a monthly coffee morning at Seaton Park surgery signposting residents to local support and activities. One-off events have included free healthy heart checks delivered from the PocDoc bus over the Easter holidays, with more than 60 residents tested, and an annual Christmas appeal for elderly and housebound residents.
These community activities sit outside the team's NHS funding, so the group regularly seeks grants to keep them running. Ashington Town Council has awarded £500 through its Small Grants Scheme to support the team's Cancer Peer Support Group, which is open to anyone aged 18 or over affected by cancer.
The group is growing steadily, bringing together people at every stage of their cancer journey — from those newly diagnosed to those who have finished treatment — to share their stories, swap coping strategies and support one another. Sessions include cancer-specific seated exercise delivered by a trained member of the team, alongside refreshments and wellbeing crafts.
The Town Council's grant will allow the group to meet fortnightly rather than monthly, meaning members who miss a session through treatment or illness no longer face a long wait to get together again. It will also help fund a trip to Wallington Hall later in the year — including hire of the Watbus so that everyone can travel comfortably — and make the group's Christmas session extra special with festive activities and resources. The funding complements a £1,000 grant from the Cancer Care Alliance and will enable the group to continue beyond December 2026.
Cllr Caroline Ball said: “It was a real pleasure to visit Wellbeing Wednesday and meet this dedicated team and the people they support — not to mention a fox and a rather special hedgehog! Groups like this are exactly what our Small Grants Scheme is for. The Cancer Peer Support Group shows the very best of Ashington — neighbours supporting one another through the toughest of times — and I'm delighted the Council's funding will help it meet more often and do even more."
Anyone interested in joining the Cancer Peer Support Group, or any of the team's community activities, please follow the links above.
Ashington Town Council's Small Grants Scheme is open to local community groups, with awards of up to £1,000 available. The next round opens on 7th October 2026 — details and eligibility criteria are available on the Grant Funding page linked below.
Civic Head drops in on Wansbeck Community Links
