Help save our historic hall

Mottram Community Centre is facing an uncertain future, as a shortage of trustees and regular users threatens to close its doors for good.

The Grade II listed building, located on Church Brow, has served the local area for nearly two centuries and is perfectly placed as a hub for the community. However, despite its prime location and historical significance, the centre is now in danger of shutting down, with trustee Sarah Davies desperate for support.  

“We’re in a worrying situation,” said Sarah. “Due to a long-standing trustee needing to retire, our governing body, Mottram Community Association, no longer has enough trustees to continue legally. This means we can’t apply for vital funding to keep the building going or carry out much-needed refurbishment.”  

The centre, which dates back to 1832, has long been a hub for groups, events, and social gatherings. But following a drop-off in group bookings post-Covid, both footfall and finances have taken a hit.  

Development Officer Dawn Acton, from Action Together, has been supporting the centre with governance and funding applications, but progress has stalled. “We need more people using the centre to bring in income and ensure the sustainability of this community space,” Dawn said. “This is a lovely building with so much potential. Volunteers are working hard to update the building, and it’s a great space and open for hiring for all kinds of events. The Association are always looking for people who can help with the running of the building, so please get in touch if you would like to support a local community asset.”  

The role of the Community Association is to manage the day to day running of the centre, but they also feel a sense of duty to keep the past alive so the community can appreciate the history on their doorstep.  

Members of the Association recently met to discuss the way forward (photo below), with ideas flowing about ways in which the centre could further serve the community, including a Wellbeing Hub and a regular Makers’ Market selling locally handmade goods.  

Local Councillor Jacqueline Owen attended to lend her support, alongside resident Anne-Marie Wadsworth, a member of the group ‘Mottram Sprucers’ who use the building for their activities. She told The Chronicle: “The Association has kindly let us have the use of the stone shed out the back to store all our equipment in and as we have expanded, it has become invaluable. The centre is now also a Tameside Council registered litter hub, from where anyone in the community may borrow equipment to do their own litter picks outside of our organised ones.”  

The ‘Sprucers’ also run regular art events, children’s craft workshops and monthly ‘Crafternoons’ at the centre, during which residents meet to create and enjoy coffee and cake. The group are currently making items for a local animal rescue and neonatal knitting for the hospital (photo below).  

Faced with the very real prospect of losing their valuable community asset, Anne-Marie said: “The potential of the building is amazing, but it does need people with the vision, time and energy to make it happen, and also to maintain the fabric of the building. Funding is required but can’t be applied for due to the lack of the requisite number of trustees. To lose a building such as this, potentially to housing, would be such a shame.”  

Aside from governance issues, the lack of regular bookings is an ongoing concern. “Since Covid, many of our regular users haven’t returned,” Sarah said. “And in July 2023 the local Pre-school, which had been in existence for fifty years and was the main user of the Centre and our main source of income, closed down.”  

The centre is still home to groups including First Steps Toddler Group, Mottram Church’s Place of Welcome, Trefoil Guild, a Reiki wellbeing group, Mottram Sprucers, and serves as a polling station for Tameside MBC. But more weekly bookings are desperately needed to help cover rising utility bills and basic running costs.  

Spread across two floors, the building features a stage upstairs and a large outdoor space with soft tarmac - ideal for children’s play and events. A colourful mural in the style of L.S. Lowry, a nod to the area’s link to the iconic artist, adds a unique and local touch to the venue.  

Originally opened as a Parish Sunday School, the building became Mottram National School in 1853, before welcoming generations of children until it closed in 1955. Two years later, it was entrusted to the Mottram Community Association who have run it ever since.  

Now, Sarah is making a heartfelt appeal for new trustees, regular users and supporters to come forward to help secure the centre’s future: “This is a beautiful, historic building and a vital part of our community. We want it to remain a vibrant, welcoming space for generations to come - but we can’t do that without help.”  

To find out more or get involved email: mottramcommunitycentre@gmail.com or join the Facebook group: ‘Mottram Community Centre’.