Left Bank - Who We Are...

The former St Margaret of Antioch building is held in trust by the Word of Life Trust, charity no 1086843.

Left Bank Leeds is currently run under the auspices of the Word of Life Trust, until a new trust, the Antioch Trust (company no 06805675 (England & Wales)), completes its charity registration. Once it is registered, the building will be transferred to the Antioch Trust and Left Bank will be run by the new charity.

This sounds a bit complicated but is simply because the charitable aims of the new trust will better reflect our heritage and arts objectives.

The Antioch Trust

Once transferred, the St Margaret’s building will be held by the Antioch Trust, for the benefit of the local community. The trust will be constituted as a company limited by guarantee with charitable aims. Its directors are unpaid volunteers and form the current steering group of the Left Bank Leeds project. You can see who we are, below.

Left Bank Leeds

We are setting up a trading company to manage activities under the banner of Left Bank Leeds. We are discussing the best structure for this company - it will be a social enterprise, but it could be in the form of a CIC (community interest company), an IPS (cooperative) or a limited company which gifts its profits back to the parent charity.

Friends of Left Bank Leeds

During 2010 we will set up a Friends scheme, which anybody will be able to join who supports the work of Left Bank. We will consult with our Friends about developments at Left Bank and we hope that our friends will be able to support us with volunteer time and maybe even cash!

Steering Group and Antioch Trust Directors

Anna Hall – is an experienced and award winning Producer and Director. She has worked in the radio and television industry for fifteen years and has experience of a wide range of programming from complex and serious social issue based films through to films that are more constructed and fun.

Emma King - has lived in Leeds for 16 years and near Left Bank for the last 13. A Christian and former member of the Word of Life Church on Cardigan Road, Emma was a trustee of that organisation and then Left Bank for a number of years.

Jennie Beaumont - has been working in the voluntary and private sector in Art related projects for the past 27 years. For the past 15 years she has worked in adult and community education. Jennie was instrumental in the development of Artsmix (formerly Equality Workshops) and currently works for them in the role of Business Development Manager.

Mike Love – Trained and practised as a solicitor and was actively involved in church leadership for 20 years. For many years he helped facilitate ecumenical activity locally, regionally and nationally and was recently the Chair of Leeds Churches Together. In 2002 he set up and currently chairs Leeds Christian Community Trust, an ecumenical Trust that supports initiatives expressing the unity and mission of the church in Leeds. Mike also works with Together For Peace.

Patti Lunniss - Patti has been involved in youth work for over twenty years and has been instrumental in leading and developing many Youth Projects, some related to the Church and many in areas of deprivation across the city. Patti has been a Trustee of Word of Life Church and is now an elder at the Vessels Unto Honour congregation in Leeds 4, which particularly welcomes asylum seekers and refugees.

Simon Hall – is a youth worker and Baptist minister and was until recently Founding Principal of Oasis College in London, a pioneering faith-based social care HEI. He is part of a local Christian community, Revive, which is a keen supporter of Left Bank. Simon is a trustee of Greenbelt, Europe’s largest Christian Arts festival. Through his work with young people in Leeds for over 15 years Simon has encouraged the development of several young Leeds musicians. He is now a freelance trainer and consultant for the voluntary sector.

Vik Banks – is currently working as Left Bank’s project manager. She is also a mentor coordinator for UnLtd, a charity supporting social entrepreneurs. She was previously director of Arkadash, a fair-trade and organic clothing business. She has a particular interest in the ethics and sustainability of Left Bank Leeds. She has worked as a project manager for the labour rights organisation, Home Workers Worldwide, working with women’s labour organisations on 4 continents and as a resource manager for British Gas. She has lived in the Hyde Park/Headingley area of Leeds since 1987.

Giselle Shaw – has lived locally since the late 1980s and was a youth worker in the Burley/Hyde park area for 10 years. She now works in finance, supporting small businesses. She has been involved in organising Community Sports Days and Carol Services in the local park for several years. As a local resident and parent, she is keen to see regeneration of the local neighbourhood.