Ponteland

Dissington Hall

Dissington Hall is a family-ran Rural Enterprise Hub, near Ponteland and Newcastle Upon Tyne

Dissington Hall

Dissington Hall is an Enterprise Hub in Northumberland, close to Newcastle Upon Tyne. The Hall is a Grade II listed Georgian mansion, designed by William Newton and built in 1797 by Edward Collingwood.

It is a privately owned hub and the operation is managed by the owners. It is considered a Hive hub and has tenants involved in insurance, web design, software development and interior design for example. There are impressive landscaped grounds and it is in close vicinity to an international airport and major road. The Hall still has the feeling of tranquillity and isolation despite its connectivity and the managers use this in their marketing and branding strategies.

Prior to becoming a hub, the Hall was a wedding venue business. The managers began hiring spaces out as meeting rooms or conferencing facilities on an ad hoc basis and steadily transitioned away from weddings and towards being a hub, with their first permanent tenant arriving in 2008. A grant in 2008 helped bring the first floor into use as offices and another in 2014 allowed the second floor, derelict since WWII, to become office accommodation.

Dissington Hall's Website
Dissington Hall outside

Its offer:

  • 26 highly professional looking office spaces of various sizes, all fitted with individual electricity meters and full fibre broadband
  • A large meeting room which can host 20 people with large screen tv and coffee machine
  • Extra facilities include communal kitchens, gardens, showers and bicycle storage
  • A range of services, including hosting corporate events and smaller meeting spaces, networking groups, social events for tenants and business training events.
  • Additionally, due to the Hall’s location and aesthetics, it has become known as a site for film and television filming.

 

Dissington Hall office 1

Its key successes

  • The hub is currently at 95% occupancy rate and several tenants have grown their businesses since arriving. One success story has seen a tenant expand twice whilst in the hub, employing more people and renting further floor-space.
  • One key success (which was also a big challenge!) is the fibre gigabit capable broadband connection, which is very fast and stable compared to the surrounding community. This has allowed the hub to attract knowledge intensive tenants that depend on quick upload and download speeds to conduct their businesses.
  • The owners believe another key strength is that they are family-run with a nimble team that can quickly react to, and fix, issues that arise and reinvest some profits into constantly improving the hub.
Dissington Hall Office 2

Owner and Manager

Gill Brown explains more:

Our key challenges

Getting excellent broadband was a big challenge for us. We used both government voucher schemes and worked closely with the County Council to firstly get point to point transmission then full fibre connection.

Pivoting the business from weddings to entirely office space was a difficult decision, but we have been delighted with the success of the Hub and the speed with which the spaces were taken.

Our future plans

We plan to further enhance our outside spaces, including with more furniture for tenants to work and hold meetings outside.

We intend to add several electric vehicle charging points to help our tenants be more sustainable and help contribute to Net Zero targets.

We have also seen the value of hosting fun social opportunities and we intend to provide more of these going forwards.

Our top tips

 

  • Get to know your tenants and understand their needs
  • Create a quiet and relaxed working environment
  • Flexible and efficient technology is vital

Our key partners

We were involved in the Rural Growth Network initiative which provided some funding during our early stages to expand our venture.

We have also been involved in research conducted by the Centre for Rural Economy (Newcastle University) and continue to be involved with the University.

Our USP

We market the hub on the strength of our location and the overall appearance of the Hall. We are close to Newcastle Upon Tyne, but tenants can avoid rush hour traffic, have free parking without the hassle of finding a space and be situated in tranquil surroundings. We can welcome international visitors due to an international airport being roughly 10 minutes’ drive away.

Our office spaces are to a very high standard and look very professional which helps our tenants to also appear professional to potential clients and employees. The building is central to our marketing and sets us apart from other hubs in the region.

Woodland walks and outside seating; along with good natural light and ventilation have made us attractive in an era of climates change and covid concerns.

Gill said:

“Running a successful is hub is different to being a landlord. It is about anticipating tenant’s needs and being flexible and adaptable as businesses expand and contract. Hands on management is required with a prompt and personalised response to tenants needs.

Looking for synergy between hub users is beneficial and can lead to joint projects. Providing networking opportunities within the hub also reduces the isolation sometimes felt by smaller businesses.”

Contact details:

Website: https://dissingtonhall.co.uk/

Twitter: @DissingtonHall

Email: gill@dissingtonhall.co.uk

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