The Miners Community Arts and Music Centre, known locally as ‘The Miners’, started life as a miner’s wash house before developing into a working men’s club. When the club closed, the building was neglected and fell into disrepair for years.

Over the last few years local residents have got creative, gathered resources and shared their skills, and transformed the run-down building into a multi-functional space for the local and wider community to use. People with building, decorating, painting, cooking and cleaning skills have all come together to create a safe environment for people to meet, socialise and enjoy.

There’s now a community café, a function room with a stage, bars, art exhibition space, band rehearsal rooms, meeting rooms, games room, outside garden space and even a fully kitted out 70-seat cinema!

All of these amazing spaces, under one roof, bring a huge variety of people together. Local tradesmen call in for the morning brew and breakfast, local bands with big dreams rehearse and perform, football supporters gather for a pre-match pint, families celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, and youngsters get together to watch their favourite films.

The centre is also used by a number of local community groups including disability groups, drama and arts groups, and faith groups. Functions and events are held in the main room including band and comedy nights, northern soul nights, Halloween parties and Christmas pantomimes.

Louis Beckett, who runs the centre, explains: “Starting the project was such a big thing but it was great to have all of the community involved. They own it, it’s now theirs. It has brought the community together, they now have somewhere to meet and enjoy and it’s great to see people coming together and creating a real buzz in Moston.”

The Miners is a true asset in the local community and exemplifies Forever Manchester’s belief that there are ‘local people doing extraordinary things together.’