Our History

“It was the birth of a dream and I’m so proud to have been part of a service which has helped so many people.”
– Linkage founder, Rex Richardson

Linkage Community Trust was a ‘dream’ given substance in the 1970s by a small group of committed  people. They developed a new and creative charity for young people with learning disabilities and autism.

David Sampson was able to help turn this dream into reality. As founding co-director, with Don MacKenzie, and subsequently managing director, Dave’s immense drive, vision, entrepreneurial  flair and dedication enabled Linkage to develop rapidly into an organisation serving local but national needs among learning disabled young people and their families.

Linkage Community Trust as a charity was set up on 14th January 1976.

Following a short-lived experiment running a workshop in Skegness, emphasis in the early years was on the development of a specialist further education college.
An initial entry of four students in 1979 grew quickly, with numbers growing in excess of 200 spread over multiple sites.

“Linkage’s idea to open a further education college for disabled school leavers – regardless of the type of disability they had – was, for many, beyond their imagination. Nevertheless with the efforts of many people and support from key individuals in education and social care, we gained enough support to open Toynton Hall in April 1979.”
– Linkage founder, Rex Richardson

All young people when leaving school are trying to establish for themselves their own personal identity. For those young people with special needs, this process is often more difficult, they gave an extra burden to carry. Learning to face their own strengths and weaknesses, learning about how others see them and establishing realistic goals for the future is often confusing, difficult and sometimes a painful process. With the help of expert counselling and advice and through carefully controlled programmes, which expose students to new challenges and opportunities to learn from experience, students grow to recognise themselves and other as people of worth and learn to take pride in themselves and their achievements.
Moving away to college like others their own age, is not easy, but it is fun!
– Linkage Founder, David Sampson

Three years on, a waiting list for places led to the opening of Weelsby Hall Further Education residential College in Grimsby.

• 1986 – The Linkage Life Care project, the Sleight Centre opens.
  The first residential residential training centre in Grimsby to support those with complex care needs.
• 1992 – Linkage begins work on it’s Long Stay care facilities a network of residential care homes to provide longer-term residential support – a service beyond college. This was established under the leadership of founder, Rex Richardson

2000’s Under the guidance of the trustees and the chairmanship of George Bateman, the dream continued with plans to complement existing education and care services with a new range of employment services including the opening of Linkage Green,  a flagship bowling green  and café in Mablethorpe,  and the opportunity for some students  to move from residential care  to independent living and paid work.

• 2010’s 2012 – New Chief Executive, Ges Roulstone, is appointed to lead Linkage.
• 2013 – Linkage’s partnership with the City of Lincoln Council was awarded £2.7 million in grant aid from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund Parks for People  for the multi-million pound restoration of Boultham Park and the creation of the education centre, cafe and greenhouse.
• 2014 – Work starts on a new Linkage campus development at South Staffs College in July.
• 2014 – In August Linkage signals work on a new annexe to the MacKenzie Building at the Weelsby Campus in Grimsby to cater for physically disabled people with learning difficulties.
• 2014 – The Roundel Café in Skegness was officially opened.
• 2014 – Sampson House is demolished to make way for a modern housing development at Skellingthorpe Road in Lincoln, in association with the Waterloo Housing Group.
• 2016 – Linkage celebrates its 40th anniversary.
• 2017 – Linkage’s partnership with City of Lincoln Council comes to fruition and the Boultham Park Education Centre, Boultham Park Cafe and Glasshouse – funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund Parks for People Initiative – opens to its first students.