There are some important changes happening at I Love North Shields CIC, and we wanted to explain clearly what’s changing — and, just as importantly, what isn’t.

I Love North Shields began independently before I Love North Shields CIC was created.

The CIC was set up in 2024 as a separate Community Interest Company, giving us a formal structure through which we could explore funding opportunities and deliver community-focused projects.

It has been an important chapter. It allowed us to try things, work with different people and organisations, develop projects and learn a huge amount about what I Love North Shields could become.

But it has also helped us understand what we want to spend our time doing next.

The CIC is being wound down

Running a CIC brings administration, governance, financial reporting and other responsibilities alongside the creative work itself.

After a lot of consideration, the decision has been made to wind down I Love North Shields CIC.

The CIC will complete its remaining commitments and the necessary statutory wind-down process before being formally dissolved.

That does not mean I Love North Shields is closing.

I Love North Shields existed before the CIC and will continue independently under its founder, Simone Harper.

The brand, website, social platforms, your stories, events and future collaborations will continue.

One final magazine

December 2026 will also see the publication of issue 19 of I Love North Shields magazine — the final edition of this particular magazine project.

Creating a regular 64-page printed magazine is a much bigger undertaking than people may realise.

Behind every issue are months of finding and coordinating stories, working with writers and photographers, editing, designing and laying out 64 pages, preparing images and artwork, proofing, liaising around print, promoting the magazine, answering emails, coordinating contributors and volunteers, working with advertisers and sponsors, managing subscriptions and sales, packing orders, Post Office trips and organising delivery and distribution.

We are incredibly proud that, by December, we will have produced 19 editions.

All issues are free to read and available here.

But bringing the regular magazine cycle to a close will free up a huge amount of time and energy for the things we want I Love North Shields to do more of.

A change to the editorial group

The regular editorial writers’ group will also come to an end alongside the magazine production cycle.

For some contributors, the printed magazine was the reason they became involved, and we completely understand that this change means their contribution to ILNS will come to a natural end.

Others would like to continue sharing stories, ideas and creative work with us through the website and other channels, and we’re delighted they’ll stay connected.

I Love North Shields will remain community-powered — many of our best stories, photographs, ideas and discoveries have always come from the people around us.

But community-powered does not mean committee-run.

ILNS will now operate independently, without a formal editorial team or CIC structure.

So what comes next?

More of the things that bring people together.

Our Vintage Markets will become an increasingly important part of what we do, alongside photowalks, Common Ground gatherings, events, experiences and collaborations.

We want to work with interesting people, local businesses, creatives and organisations.

We want to build good partnerships.

We want to create reasons for people to get out, meet somebody new, discover somewhere different and enjoy North Shields together.

And we absolutely still want your stories.

If there’s somebody we should meet, a place we should discover, a memory worth recording, an interesting local business, a photograph, a piece of history or simply something happening that deserves attention — send it our way.

A story might become an article.

It might become a photograph, a Reel, an interview, an event or something completely different.

We might publish something in print again one day. We might not.

For now, we’re deliberately giving I Love North Shields more freedom.

Less time managing structures and production cycles.

More time telling good stories, creating experiences, collaborating, bringing people together and finding some common ground.

And most importantly, we want to keep having fun while we do it.

18 magazines so far. One more to come.

Then the next chapter begins. 🤍