SUPPORTERS and staff of Seven Stories are celebrating a financial boost for their work – thanks to classic children’s writer Enid Blyton and the guardians of her legacy.

The Enid Blyton Trust for Children is being wound up by its trustees who have decided to donate its assets to support the work of the Newcastle-based centre for children’s books.

A permanent £750,000 fund will be set up at the Community Foundation for Tyne & Wear and Northumberland from which grants will be allocated annually to support the work of Seven Stories in the community.

A formal announcement of the arrangement, and of an initial founding grant of £10,000, will be announced today at a special lunch in the House of Lords by Seven Stories patron Lord Beecham.

The Enid Blyton Trust for Children was established in 1982 with some of the royalties earned by the books written by the most popular children’s author of the 20th Century.

The new fund, permanently linking the famous author with the Seven Stories name, will be known as The Enid Blyton Fund for Seven Stories at the Community Foundation.

Kate Edwards, chief executive of Seven Stories, said: “We are thrilled that the Enid Blyton trustees have asked us to continue their work to improve the lives of children through learning and leisure opportunities. The new fund, founded in Enid Blyton’s name, deepens our connection with her and her outstanding contribution to children’s literature in Britain.

“Grants from the Enid Blyton Fund for Seven Stories at Community Foundation will support our work to inspire more children from different walks of life to enjoy reading and the life opportunities that this brings.”

One of the trustees of the Enid Blyton Trust for Children explained: “Seven Stories is a truly inspiring place.

“We know that we have made the right decision and believe that Enid herself would feel very happy with everything Seven Stories is doing for her, her work and for the children.”

Last year Seven Stories acquired a wealth of Enid Blyton material at auction, including rare and original typescripts and some of her best-known work from the Famous Five, Secret Seven, Malory Towers and Noddy series.

This material has now become the only publicly-accessible Enid Blyton archive. It is due to feature in a Seven Stories exhibition about Enid Blyton next year.

The Enid Blyton Trust has issued small grants, from £210 to £2,500, out of an annual budget of around £30,000. Beneficiaries have included special schools, literacy schemes and some medical organisations who deal with children up to 16 years of age.

Kate Edwards said the new regular grant stream would support Seven Stories’ learning and participation programme and help to extend it.

But she said it was also a step in the right direction as Seven Stories adjusts to a different economic climate, with public funding set to decline and arts organisations urged to seek income from private sources. She said: “The Enid Blyton Fund for Seven Stories has made it possible for us to have an endowment, which until recently was just a dream.

“Though support from our public funders continues to be vital, our fundraising ambition is to grow our endowment to £5m.”

This would help to build a more secure future for the organisation and its mission “to protect, share and celebrate our precious literary inheritance for children for generations to come”.

Rob Williamson, chief executive of the Community Foundation, said the organisation had helped several charitable trusts that had wound up their affairs.

He said: “The Community Foundation is honoured to have been entrusted with this fund and to be associated with keeping the charitable activities associated with Enid Blyton alive.”

Enid Blyton, who died in 1968 at the age of 71, wrote more than 700 books which have sold more than 600 million copies around the world.

Criticised in some circles for her non-literary writing style and seemingly outmoded attitudes, she nevertheless became the best-selling English language author of the 20th Century.

She is still widely acknowledged as a master storyteller who could turn the most reluctant young readers into bookworms.

Seven Stories opened in Newcastle’s Ouseburn Valley in 2005 as a national home for children’s literature, supported by authors, illustrators, publishers and a host of other well-wishers from around the country.

Its archive of written manuscripts and artwork has grown rapidly to become a national treasure trove while its beautifully mounted exhibitions have proved to be major attractions.