Higher Blackley Community Centre

Blackley, Manchester

Background

Located just a couple of minutes’ walk, next door to our Victoria Avenue development in Blackley, Manchester is Higher Blackley Community Centre. The centre provides the people of Blackley (and wider community) with affordable, usable space for various events, promoting wellbeing and friendship in the community.

A well-loved community hub in the area, the centre caters for people of all abilities, providing activities in baking, gardening, quizzes, bingo, arts & crafts, exercise and sporting events amongst many others.

The Project

This tired-looking community centre required modernisation and removal of a former, derelict, youth club (which was attached to the centre) accessibility improvements to enhance the facilities and general appearance. This would include internal and external work.

The Aim

The aim was to provide a pleasant community space for the local residents, a space to host the various events on their calendar and a place they could be proud of.

The Result

The first improvement required was in providing a DDA-compliant ramp to the centre for improved disability access, allowing much better access for people with physical disabilities and wheelchair users.

Internal renovations followed, which included re-wiring, new lights, flooring and heating of two sensory rooms within the centre.

Finally, the kerb-appeal of the centre was enhanced with wooden cladding installed around the exterior, giving it an instant boost.

The completed centre was handed over to the residents in late 2023 in the presence of local MP’s and some (rather) conspicuous looking “celebrities”, again, provided by John Southworth!