Community hub opens its doors
A NEW community hub has opened on the Moss Estate. Located in St Barnabas Church, in Macclesfield, the Connected Communities centre will run classes and events for residents on the Moss Estate.
And businesses and groups will also use the centre, on Lyme Avenue, to provide support and advice for people, to help with things like their finances and health.
Volunteers and organisations supported the grand opening with stalls, a free barbecue, bouncy castle, face painting, and a charity clothes sale.
Families also got to sample a variety of homemade cakes and had the chance to win prizes on the raffle.
Laura Jeuda, councillor for Macclesfield South, attended the opening.
She said it is great news for residents on the Moss Estate, and something the area needs.
Coun Jeuda said: “I think it is a really good idea because it is one of the only areas in Macclesfield that doesn’t have a community centre. It will be really important there.
“It is about improving the lives of the people on the estate because they are so far away from town, especially for young families it can be very expensive to travel, even to get to the leisure centre.
“The main thing is that we have things going on on the estate.”
Cheshire East Council has invested £150,000 in developing Connected Communities centres across the borough.
And residents can check online to see what classes or events, such as coffee mornings, are being held at their local centre.
Coun Jeuda said it is exactly what residents want and she is keen to see it stay for a long time to come.
She added: “We have funding for the centre for the next two years and I just hope that the council will continue to fund it.
“People on the estate were asked what they would like to see in their area and this is what they said they wanted, a place for children and for young people to go.”
She added: “They recently reduced the number of PCSOs on the estate from two to one. They used to organise things in the summer holidays but Luke can’t fo it by himself.”
To find out more about Connected Communities in Cheshire East visit: www. cheshireeast. gov. uk/communities Residents can also contact the centre at St Barnabas Church on 01625 432919.