Award criteria
A community space can be a piece of land or a building available for use by the community. Nominations much must show:
- Best use of a community space
- How the space is seen as central within the community
- The impact it has within the community
Please read all the options below, and cast your vote at the bottom of the page. Voting closes on 31 July 2018. The winner will be announced in August.
Please note: there is only one vote per person, due to the set-up of the poll only one vote can be cast per computer as a vote is identified by an IP address.
The winner will be invited to attend the Spirit of Manchester Awards 2018 Ceremony to receive their award and the film of the winning Community Space, made by our Community Reporters, will be shown on the night.
Bridge 5 Mill
Bridge 5 Mill is a sustainably refurbished and managed mill which is a hub and resource for groups, and organisations working towards a more sustainable future; a future that is greener, safer, healthier and equitable. We are home to 15 tenant organisations, comprising charities, campaign groups, NGO’s and social enterprises, who share our aims and values. Bridge 5 Mill strives to create a supportive and collaborative working environment and community. This includes offering; affordable rent, free and subsidised room hire, reception support, tenant socials and yoga for health and wellbeing.
We hire our conference and meeting rooms externally on a sliding scale, businesses pay a higher rate, while we offer low to no cost rooms to charities, campaign and local community groups. We also offer conference organisers support; developing a check-list for less experienced event organisers and providing on the day help.
Bridge 5 Mill’s main impact is at a grass roots campaign level, as well as providing rooms, we are also a hub for the environmental and campaign group communities, connecting and distributing information to our networks and building users, and managing our thriving Twitter and Facebook accounts. Bridge 5 Mill is owned by the charity the Fairfield Environment Trust.
Website: http://bridge5mill.org.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Bridge5Mill/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bridge5mill
Communities for All Limited
The community being served is very diverse, data from the Census showed, Cheetham Hill Road to be one of the most diverse streets in Britain. We encourage community cohesion, integration, improve social and economic inclusion, by engaging all the community in what we do.
The centre is one of a kind and offers initiatives like the following: employment courses; community cycling; community gardening; help for the homeless; activities for disabled children/adults; creative English classes; youth club activities; maths English and science tuition; tours of the mosque building for schools, university and GMP's new recruits; host open days for the mosque; healthy cooking classes; women’s self-defence; mixed martial arts; health awareness talks (dementia, diabetes, cancer, schizophrenia, asthma and hay fever); social club; exercise classes; boxercise; badminton; table tennis; community clean up days/litter picks; provide food hampers for needy families; help other charities in the locality such as food banks, NHS blood donor centre, hate crime centre, friendly places centre and much more.
We aim to help the community to work towards their aspirations, to achieve their expectations through sport and health initiatives, so the community can lead healthier and more active lifestyles in a safe environment and become resilient.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/c4all.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/all_limited
Coverdale and Newbank Community Association
We at Coverdale and Newbank Community Association have 40% of Cornbrook House on Stockport Road, Ardwick. In the year since we were given this space we have launched a Community Grocers Shop of which we have 163 members this is run by volunteers from the area.
We also deliver services from our space to residents of Ardwick and beyond with advisors working all day Wednesday and Thursday. We run The Kids Mealbox Project every school holiday providing a lunch for children who would normally get free school meals and helping with holiday hunger for any child who needs it. We also help to reduce social isolation by our Helping Hands Project which helps residents of Ardwick get out and about visit different places of interest and also come together in our community space to enjoy meals and evenings of entertainment.
Our community space is a place of friendship and fun but also serving our community and to make Manchester proud. Our team of volunteers that make this happen are ladies in their later years and one of them will be 80 years young in June this year. Coverdale and Newbank Community Association. The strength of people. The power of community.
Website: www.coverdaleandnewbank.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CandNCommunity/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CandNCommunity
Firmstart CIC
Julie and Sheridan run St Wilfrid’s Enterprise Centre. They are the epitome of community service. They provide free space for groups, low rent/charges to small charities. They are always flexible and eager to support new groups and communities. They passionately recycle and emulate true community sprit without crossing professional boundaries. Nothing is ever too much for them. They host an older peoples group, they support a small charity called Fathers Against Violence, they are very encouraging to Europia.
The building was bequeathed to the community when it was decommissioned from a functioning Roman Catholic Church. The trust that manages the church is made up of people who have had challenges in their lives and still do to some extent. But in spite of their own difficulties they both provide an excellent community centre and are always motivated by doing good and making the church building open and access able to everyone.
Website: www.firmstart.co.uk
Heaven on Earth The Space
Heaven on Earth is a social enterprise that was founded in August 2017. In the past nine months we have brought together the local community through yoga, creativity workshops, day retreats and conscious music events for the whole family. Our aim is to inspire people to make positive changes, empowering them to heal themselves naturally and find balance in their lives.
We offer lots of free activities for the local community. Everyone that attends our sessions feel at home, they always return knowing that they have now found a place where they feel comfortable and able to connect with others whilst improving their health and well-being.
We have put together a video so you can see how beautiful the space is and for you to really feel what we are sharing with our community. Please check out our video here: https://youtu.be/phE3SrmrIUc
Website: http://heavenonearth.space/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HeavenOnEarthTheSpace/
LGBT Foundation
I am writing to nominate the LGBT foundation for the community space award. I believe they should win this award because the building they occupy is seen as an essential meeting space within the LGBT community.
The building has multiple spaces of varying sizes and adaptations, which are very user friendly for many different group sizes and uses. The space at 5 Richmond St, hosts many regular meetings of different special needs LGBT groups and organisations, including Icebreakers, and the impact the use of this space has on our organisation is critical.
Without the use of this space, our organisation and most likely the others that meet there, would probably be unable to continue. Without the use of this valuable resource, the LGBT community in Manchester would be a much poorer place, and therefore the foundation building has a huge impact throughout the community, by enabling many different groups to continue. I cannot express highly enough how crucial this community space is, not just for Icebreakers and our service users, but for the many other volunteer groups and their service users who have the use of this space.
Website: https://lgbt.foundation/
Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/LGBTFdn/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LGBTfdn
Miners Community Arts and Music Centre
I have nominated the Miners as best Community Space because it brings the whole Community together for all different types of activities. Local residents use the space on a daily basis we have a Community Café where local residents meet to socialise reducing isolation and providing a safe environment. We received funding to provide free hot meals twice a week to local residents particularly those on low income or single parents. We provide dancing classes acting classes Zumba classes all at affordable costs. We provide free screenings in our 70 seater cinema especially for the children during the holidays.
All local residents know they are most welcome to our Centre and most of them say to us that without us being there and open all of the time they would have nothing else to do on the estate.
We have come a long way in the eight years since we took it over we could never give it up and are really proud of what we have achieved. Last year we won the best Community Project Award from Manchester City Council and then to top that on the same night, we also won the Pride of Manchester Award!
Website: www.theminers.org.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/arts.music.community/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Minersartnmusic
Northmoor Community Association
Northmoor Community Centre known as the ‘go to place’ for services, support, activities and more importantly connecting with the community. A multiple space used weekly by 596 different people engaging with a programme of different projects, events, community groups, services, daily and weekly activities for all ages, rented by various community groups delivering their own projects in the evenings and weekends.
The Centre does not provide the most up to date modern equipment, with everything being second hand recycled as every £1 where possible is put towards frontline services. What it oozes is a very friendly, welcoming warm and supportive space, for example, recently the co-founder of Heart & Parcel, one of the community projects hiring Northmoor as a venue to run cooking and ESOL classes. Having come to the end of their first section of sessions stated: “What a positive experience we are having so far! The space is amazing, in particular the kitchen resources/classroom layout – it has been perfect for the 'learning' and 'doing' nature of our classes. It’s clean, fully stocked and has everything we need. We like it so much we have booked our private workshops and big projects – you are by far the best”.
Website: www.northmoorcommunity.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/northmoorcommunityassociation/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nmoor_Community
Welcome Centre Urban Farm volunteers
Wai Yin Society provides twice-weekly grow-your-own-vegetable sessions at the Welcome Centre in Cheetham Hill. Around 15-20 volunteers have been regularly actively involved in taking care of the garden and farm every day. Volunteers plant vegetables throughout the year. All the planted vegetables and herbs are harvested and cooked at the Welcome Centre. With all the efforts of volunteers, we are now awaiting vegetables and flowers to grow in spring.
Apart from the vegetables, volunteers are also looking after the chickens and ducks. There are 21 hens, two cocks and three ducks in the urban farm. Around six free-range eggs are laid by these hens on a daily basis. These eggs are mainly for baking cakes.
Some said taking care of the little animals and gardening are making them happier. Some said through volunteering, their self-confidence has improved. These activities have also helped them to have more socialising time with other users in the centre and reduced the risk of social isolation. Volunteers are now becoming friends and providing a lot of mutual support to each other.
Website: www.waiyin.org.uk/centres/welcome-centre/
Westcroft Community Centre
Over the last 18 months, Westcroft Community Centre has transformed a space that nobody accessed, had very little opportunity and offered very little support for the local community to a vibrant local hub that is quite simply put, never quiet.
It has a raft of volunteers and provides volunteering opportunities for all times of availability and on multiple aspects that people can volunteer on. It now has: a quids in food club to support those in food poverty; sessions where you can learn how to knit and sow; a jobs club; a gardening club so that people can learn how to grown their own food or utilise the herb bed; computers for beginners / IT support sessions; English classes for beginners; coffee mornings; and learning how to cook all run by volunteers.
The centre as a whole is a place where people come to obtain advice, meet new people, learn new skills, share unwanted items such as clothing that children have grown out of. It is an integral part of lots of people’s lives and offers an amazing community resource.
Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/westcroftcommunitycentre/