Posts Categorized: Latest News

One of our ongoing grant recipients, Nightingale Cancer Support today hosted our Board of Trustees as they opened a room dedicated to the RSA Trust.

The RSA Room was dedicated in recognition of the Trust’s ongoing support of Nightingale Cancer Support. The Board of Trustees are honoured and humbled to be recognised by Nightingale, which provides both counselling and complementary therapies to people fighting cancer who either live or work in the Borough of Enfield.

Chairman of the RSA Trust, Gary Walker, said of the event, “The RSA Trust is delighted to have supported the Nightingale Cancer Support Centre over the past years. We are pleased when our contribution enables such a deserving organisation to continue with its outstanding work. It was a proud moment when our trustees attended the naming ceremony of the RSA Room. We wish The Nightingale every success in the future and hope the RSA Room is an important part of their work.”

The RSA Room will be used as a therapy room which has been specially designed to create a sense of deep relaxation for its users.

Read more about the dedication on Nightingale’s website.

Since the roll out of Universal Credit to the northern parts of Enfield, Citizens Advice Enfield has experienced an increase in demand for their services. The RSA Trust has renewed its grant commitment for another year, helping secure access to advice in the Borough.

You can contact Citizens Advice Enfield online, by phone (0300 330 1167) or attending a drop in session at their Ponders End Offices on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday from 09:30.

As part of the Royal Armouries led Roll of Honour Project, the RSA Island Centre hosted the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the workers of the Royal Small Arms Factory in the First World War.

Prior to the unveiling attendees convened in the Community Hall on site and were treated to a buffet lunch before being welcomed to the Centre by RSA Trust chairman Gary Walker. An additional speech by Royal Armouries Head of Archives, Philip Abbott gave the attendees some background to this Heritage Lottery Funded project before local historian Jim Lewis did the honour of unveiling the plaque itself.

The project team and the RSA Trust staff are grateful to Gary Walker, Martin Jewell and the other Trustees of the RSA Trust for hosting this event and welcoming attendees to the Centre. The Trust are incredibly grateful to Philip Abbott and the Royal Armouries team who set up the Roll of Honour project and have made this memorial plaque possible. The work of John, Jan and Stacey from Enfield Museum & Local Studies has also driven this project forward and we’re grateful for their support on the day as well. Ray Tuthill and the RSAF Apprentices Association have been instrumental in not only sourcing objects and helping the Trustees of the RSA Trust set up the RSA Interpretation Centre, but have also aided the research for this project. Finally we’d like to thank Jim Lewis for his pulling the rope to unveil the plaque to the world. His passion for the Lea Valley and knowledge of the history of the Royal Small Arms Factory are second to none.

The RSA Trust has renewed its ongoing funding for two projects delivered by Enterprise Enfield:

Business Support and Advice
Enterprise Enfield provides one hour free advice sessions for any Enfield resident looking to start or grow their own business.

Inspiring Women
The long running, flagship programme to help female entrepreneurs gain the knowledge and skills to bring their business ideas to fruition continues to be funded by the RSA Trust. But now, with help from the European Union’s Regional Development Fund has been able to expand to help the women of Waltham Forest and Haringey get with the programme, as well as Enfield.

Our small “museum”, the RSA Interpretation Centre takes part every year in Open City’s London Open House weekend, opening up access to our 234 year old clock and giving visitors the opportunity to learn about the history of the Royal Small Arms Factory from former workers volunteering their time for us, courtesy of the Royal Small Arms Factory Apprentices’ Association.

We had over 200 visitors on the day, in spite of the weather and no service on the Lea Valley Line through Enfield Lock. We hosted in the Community Hall an exhibition by the Royal Armouries which is now going to be in place at the Dugdale Centre in Enfield Town for the next two months.

We are as ever grateful to the Apprentices Association and to the Royal Armouries, with whom we are working to deliver a Heritage Lottery funded project, Roll of Honour.

The popular Edmonton Eagles Amateur Boxing Club has received a grant from the RSA Trust for this year.

The Club is open six days a week and is based at the Heart of Edmonton Centre on Montagu Road, but also works closely with young people on Enfield Island Village in association with Enact.

Visit their website to learn more.

The RSA Trust has renewed its commitment to the community in and around Enfield Island Village with a fresh funding package for Enact (also known as the Enfield Island Youth & Community Trust).

As seen in our case study, our relationship with Enact goes back to when the RSA Island Centre first opened in 2000. Enact provides support for families and young people between the ages of 0 – 25, as well as opportunities for volunteers of all ages.

To find out more about what Enact offers you, and how to get involved, visit their website, for further information.

The RSA Trust is proud to support the Friends of Bruce Castle’s Memories of the High Road oral history project and exhibition.

The project will capture the memories of those who grew up along the High Road in Tottenham, now that the area is undergoing significant changes. The RSA Trust is contributing a share of the funding of the Heritage Lottery funded endeavour.

To learn more visit the Exhibition Blog.

Our ongoing relationship with Citizens Advice Enfield has been renewed for another year, helping residents in the north and east of the borough access critical advice, including benefit enquiries, debt counselling and housing queries.

You can contact Citizens Advice Enfield online, by phone (0300 330 1167) or attending a drop in session at their Ponders End Offices on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday from 09:30. The address is:

Citizens Advice Enfield
Unit 3, 5 Vincent House
2e Nags Head Road
Ponders End
EN3 7FN

The RSA Trust

It has become apparent that there is confusion over who is who on Enfield Island Village and at the RSA Island Centre. As explained on our “About Us” page, the RSA Trust is a grant distributing organisation. It does not own or manage any commercial or residential estates, nor does it manage funds for the benefit of tenants or leaseholders on Island Centre Way.

RSA Island Centre / RSA Island Village Limited
The RSA Island Centre is owned and operated by a company limited by guarantee, RSA Island Village Limited. This company collects rents and manages the estate on a day to day basis. It also manages and operates the service charge for both commercial tenants and long leaseholders. The estate management team share an office premises with the RSA Trust.

Enfield Island Village Trust
The Enfield Island Village Trust (EIVT) is responsible for maintaining the common areas of the Enfield Island Village Estate. RSA Island Village Limited pays an annual rent charge to EIVT, as do all freeholders and long leaseholders. Beyond that there is no relationship between EIVT and RSA Island Village or the RSA Trust. If you require to contact EIVT please visit their website for details on how to do so, or visit their offices at the Community Hall.

Staff in Our Office
Staff employed by the RSA Trust do attempt to be helpful to tenants of the RSA Island Centre when members of the estate management team are not present or otherwise engaged. However, they are unable to adjudicate in disputes between landlord and tenant, tenant and tenant or between third parties. Nor can they provide updates on ongoing negotiations.

Furthermore the RSA Trust DOES NOT TOLERATE ANY ABUSIVE OR THREATENING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS STAFF, including, but not limited to physical, legalistic, sexual or racial / religious hatred. This includes times when staff are on duty on or off site, or off duty, going about their daily lives. Staff reserve all their rights under law.