A new partnership has been confirmed for an old building in Mossley.

The Egmont Street changing rooms, which have been empty for a while, will now be supported by Mossley Town Council and Works4U.

The town council has wanted to bring the changing room building, which is situated in a busy park area in Bottom Mossley, back into use for a while. After offering up to £10,000 financial support to community groups to take on the project, four organisations came forward to the council with their ideas.

Mossley councillor Stephen Homer explained: “After being boarded-up and potentially in danger of demolition, we wanted to see what we could achieve here, with a café as the first priority and making this a hub for the community as well as welcoming to the sports users. It would be the start of looking at how we can make this and the park area as a whole, a much better venue for a range of users.”

Town councillor Pat Mullin added: “The vision we laid out was to see how the whole area bounded by Egmont Street, Manchester Road and the Huddersfield Canal, could be transformed over time for a range of activities; different sports, water activities, walking, linking to cycle routes and environmental projects. 

“The provision of an ‘anchor’ like the café is key to attracting more users.”

The site is owned by Tameside Council, who, says the town council, was very supportive of the idea from the start. 

The council, though, had to formally list the building for disposal and approve an asset transfer policy. This was done in the summer last year.

Mossley Juniors Football Club, which uses the park’s pitches, were part of the discussions and said they would welcome improvements to the facilities, especially a café. They confirmed that teams do not use traditional changing rooms much these days, but said a meeting place would be useful.

Friends of Egmont Street, a volunteer group which has created a community garden in the park, have also welcomed the proposal.

Both Tameside and Mossley councils received an expression of interest from Works4U, an Ofsted, Department of Education regulated provider of educational, skills and work opportunities for youngsters, up to the age of  24, who experience difficulties with mainstream education. 

Cllr Homer continued: “We met at their centre in Stalybridge and were immediately impressed by the facility they have there, how they also make space for the local community. 

“Since then they have demonstrated their commitment to this project, financially, practically and the way they speak of community benefit and involvement was outstanding.”

Frank Travis, the Chair of Mossley Town Council added: “Our hope was that it would be run by the community for the community, the idea was to renovate the building, but we know from experience that it can take community groups a considerable time to put together a plan, including raising funds and recruiting volunteers to run their project. 

“Most of those who we spoke to felt that it would be a step too far for them. Having said that, we did speak to some great small businesses who were very community-minded, but agreed they simply did not have the capacity.”

Wendy Mackie, the managing director of the 25-strong team at Works4U at Stalybridge explained: “We work to upskill and support young people with confidence about their own abilities to secure long term employment. 

“In doing that they also gain hospitality skills, spend time producing items such as benches in our workshop and have placements on our partner farm in Hyde. 

“The team shares a massive commitment to our community ethos. We expect to invest at least £60,000-70,000 on the building with extensions front and back, kitchens, cafe and flexible room arrangement or a variety of uses. 

“We have already commissioned an architect and surveyor to look at the lease and start the technical side of the building work. 

“I am really pleased that Mossley Town Council has shown imagination, faith in us and confirmed us as the preferred partner for this scheme. Most of all, I look forward to meeting and working in the Mossley community.”

Tameside and Mossley Town Councils have come to the same conclusion said Cllr Stephen Homer. 

“Works4U have the financial and management capacity and competence to deliver this and to meet all the requirements around the vision. Plus they can move to make this a reality in a relatively short time,” he added.

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