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Tagged for success

 Young people and community workers in Melton are so excited at the prospect of their new community centre that they are launching a new youth club for it – just two weeks after construction work on the centre began.

 

Leicestershire graffiti artist Paul Gent will be holding a graffiti workshop for local 11-19 year olds to mark the launch of the new youth club. The workshop will be based on the themes of community integration and respect. The graffiti will be sprayed and painted onto hoardings around the site of the new community centre on the Egerton estate.

 

Photocall:

You are invited to a graffiti tagging workshop and photocall at:

1pm – 2pm on Saturday 17th November

at Sysonsby Street , at the rear of Morley Close, Melton LE13.

 

 

The centre is part of a local regeneration scheme which will also see Muir Group, a not-for-profit housing association, build 10 shared ownership flats on the Egerton estate for local first-time buyers. The new youth club will bring together young people from both Egerton and Fairmead.

 

Planning permission for the new combined community and children’s centre, which will be the first of its kind in Leicestershire, was granted in September to Muir Group. Work began on site on 1 November. The centre will offer classes, IT, arts and crafts, sports, teas and other social events, tailored for all sections of the community, from the under-5s to pensioners.

 

Voluntary Action officer Joanna Burrows said “We run a youth club for 5 – 19 year olds and we have wanted for ages to offer extra activities for the 11-19 year olds. The new centre will give us room for that, and so we are starting the process of setting up the new youth club now. We have lots of ideas for activities, from a social enterprise based on reproducing artwork on mugs and t-shirts to culturally themed cooking sessions to putting in bids for regional funding for local environmental projects like solar panels on the community centre.”

 

The graffiti workshop is being co-funded by Muir Group and Melton Borough Council.

 

Muir Group’s Beverley Price said: “The community and children’s centre will play an important role in rejuvenating the estate and opening up more opportunities for local young people. ”

 

15th November 2007

New homes for Allington

  The generosity of two local businessmen has seen the site of a former nursery in Allington transformed into six splendid affordable homes. 

The project, which began about two years ago, is being handled by the Muir Group Housing Association (a non-profit making association) and their director of business relations, Chris Moorhouse explained how the project came about. “The nursery, which produced fruit and vegetables, was closed by the two owners and they decided to sell the land in plots. “Having taken the decision to close, they decided that they wanted to put something back into the village where they lived.

Their decision was to ask us at Muir Group to build six affordable homes – three of which were to be rented and three to operate on a shared ownership principle (half rent and half buy).” At the time of going to press, the six homes were close to completion, with tenants chosen and ready to move in.

Another stipulation of the sale was that all tenants must be people who live in Allington or that have a connection with the village – for example they may have previously lived in the village and moved away or wish to return to the village to care for someone. 

Commenting on the development, a mixture of two and three bedroom homes, Chris Moorhouse added: “We are delighted to have carried out this work in Allington with the very strong support of SKDC. We are equally delighted with the quality of the six properties – they look brilliant.”

 

Glebe Green children get ready for playful regeneration project

November 20/11/2007

 

Children on Muir Group’s Glebe Green estate in Winsford are looking forward to a hands-on trial of a regeneration project aimed just at them: a play area designed for the under-13s.

 

Work starts next week Monday 26th November 2007 on the new play area, which is phase 2 of a longer-term regeneration plan jointly developed by the Glebe Green community group Harmony, not-for-profit housing association Muir Group, and Groundwork Cheshire. The play area will include whizzers, springers and a stand-on see-saw as well as a toddler unit.

 

Since January 2007 teenagers at Glebe Green have been enjoying a state-of-the-art multi-use games area (MUGA),that offers facilities for football and basketball as well as a teen shelter.

 

Work will start on Monday 26th November 2007 on the play area, which was designed following consultation with the local community. The contractors will be on site for about eight weeks.

 

Photocall:

Project partners will gather on site to mark the start of construction:

Vauxhall Way, Glebe Green, Winsford, CW7 1NG

 

Construction site in front of the Muir Housing Office

Time and Date TBC

 

Funding for this project has come from: Vale Royal Borough Council, who are contributing £53,600 of their Big Lottery Children’s Play allocation; Muir Group, who have contributed over £50,000 to the project’s two phases; WREN (£20,100); the Trusthouse Charitable Foundation (£10,000); and Groundwork Cheshire (£4,000).

 

Katherine Stanier, Project Manager at Groundwork Cheshire said: ‘I am so pleased to see the final phase of this ambitious project getting started. The efforts of the project steering group have seen the estate transformed, and it is a great feeling to know that young people now have something safe and healthy to do right on their doorstep. We wish to thank the local community for all their effort and support with this project as it reaches its final stage.’

 

David Hull from Muir Group said: “The children’s play area, along with the MUGA, are part of Muir’s vision to bring a feeling of fun and community back into Glebe Green. The local community group have been driving these the plans all the way and this new play area will be a shining example of what we can achieve when we work together on community regeneration.”

 

Richard Smith from WREN said: We are really pleased that we have been able to make a further sizable contribution to these facilities. Phase 1 has been a tremendous success and we hope that these works will build on the MUGA to ensure that young people of all ages have an area where they can take part in engaging play in a safe environment.

 

Evelyn Thomas from VRBC said:

 

For more information please contact:

• Craig Morris, Groundwork Cheshire on 01606 723160

• Or Michaela O’Brien, Muir Group, on 01883 730379 or 07905 849306.

 

Planning green light for Muir Group signals ground-breaking new services for Egerton estate

 

A planning application approved today by Melton Borough Council is set to transform life on the Egerton and Dieppe estates in Leicestershire.

 

The planning application, submitted by not-for-profit housing association Muir Group, is for a combined children’s centre / community centre and 10 flats for shared ownership on Egerton estate. The estate is in one of Melton’s Neighbourhood Priority areas.

 

Muir’s Azhar Ahmed said:

“Local residents have campaigned for this community centre for years. This scheme will bring a sense of community, support and much-needed services to the Egerton and Dieppe estates. We are also building 10 flats for shared ownership so that local young people who cannot afford to buy on the open market can take their first step on the property ladder.”

 

The centre will be Leicestershire’s first combined children’s centre and community centre. It will offer sessions tailored for all sections of the community, from the under-5s and their parents, to teenagers, families and older people. The centre’s programme will include classes, IT, arts and crafts, sports, teas and other social events.

 

Local residents groups Residents’ Action Group for Egerton (RAGE) have campaigned for some time for their own community centre and have helped plan the design of both the community centre building and the programme of activities that will be run there.

 

Brenda Smith of RAGE said:

“Members of RAGE have been involved at all stages of the development of this project and are excited about the potential initiatives that can be generated in their community and the regeneration that will result.”

 

The 10 flats will be the first homes for shared ownership on the estate, aimed at the many local young people who cannot afford to buy on the open market. They will be earmarked for residents of Egerton and surrounding estates.

 

The shortage of affordable housing in the area often forces young people to move away if they want to buy a home. Shared ownership, a government-backed scheme, helps make home ownership affordable as the buyer takes a mortgage for just half the value of the property and rents the other half.

 

Building is expected to start in November. The community centre should be complete by the end of June 2008, and the flats by October 2008.