Work is underway to complete our vibrant community-led centre in Ashton which will provide local people with a wealth of health and social opportunities.
Christ Church Community Developments is working with Tameside Council on the exciting ‘4C’ project – a sustainable community building located in the heart of the Waterloo community, on the grounds of Christ Church between Oldham Road and Taunton Road.
It will be open to all Tameside residents and work on a similar model to the very successful Grafton Centre in Hyde and Together Centre in Dukinfield, which are run by the community.
As well as health and social activities and services, 4C will offer a high spec community space, bookable meeting rooms and a café. The building, which will be fully accessible for all, is designed to limit the impact on the environment and incorporates new and traditional technologies with recycling and energy efficiency integral to the operation.
Casey are the main contractor who have been appointed to complete the fit out of the building so it will be ready to open in spring 2021. They are currently working at Ashton Old Baths and have been involved in housing refurbishment in the borough.
As part of their commitment to social value, the experienced team at Casey will be sharing their knowledge working with Works4U, a Tameside based independent specialist college helping young people into work.
Steff Riches, trustee at Christ Church Community Developments (CCCD), the volunteer led charity who are developing the project, said “We are grateful to our funders and glad that after such a long time of working behind the scenes to make this happen that we are now making tangible progress. We look forward to working with Casey and their team to complete the works and to open the building for our local community next year.”
Alan Taylor, Director at Casey said “We are delighted to commence work on the 4C Community Centre and provide these much-needed facilities in the Ashton area. We are excited to work with the 4C to bring the scheme to life. Casey are passionate about improving lives and supporting the people in the community, we will be working with young people to give them the skills they need to secure work.”
Tameside Council Executive Member Cllr Eleanor Wills, who is responsible for health and social care, said: “I’m really excited to see work getting underway on 4C – this is a project that will benefit all of the community – young and old – and follows other similar models where community led provision and facilities successfully lead on improving local people’s lives and supporting residents to thrive. This cooperative approach in turns saves the council money in more traditional forms of health and social care.”
Funding has also come from Viridor Credits through the Landfill Communities Fund. Gareth Williams, Operations Manager at Viridor Credits, said “we were impressed with CCCD’s forward-thinking approach to sustainability. This is an exciting development for the local community, and a fantastic example of how to build with the environment in mind, as well as being a great resource for nearby residents.”
