1. Events
2. Regular Activities
3. Health & Wellbeing
4. Children and Young People
5. News, Exhibitions & meetings
6. Sport/Active lifestyle
7. Volunteering
8. Support
9. Festivals and special events

Events and activities

Free Wellness Walks at Hough End Leisure Centre

Regular walks can help reduce stress, boost mood, improve heart health, and increase overall fitness—all while enjoying the company of others. Hough End Leisure Centre are now running Wellness Walks, designed for all abilities! Meet at 10am on Wednesdays at the centre and join them for an outdoor walk to enjoy fresh air and walking to local green spaces, perfect for relaxation and connection with nature.
Walking with others makes it easier to stay motivated and build healthy habits. No sign-up needed however you can book online or via the link below or on BetterUK app or just turn up and walk your way to better well-being for free. Hough End Leisure Centre, 480 Princess Road, M20 1HD. www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/manchester/news/boost-your-health-with-wellness-walks

Overcoming Worry Workshop

NHS Manchester Talking Therapies are running six weekly sessions on how to overcome worry. The course is a 6-week online CBT-based programme delivered by Manchester Talking Therapies via Microsoft Teams. Learn about anxiety and unhelpful thinking; Build relaxation skills; Practice problem-solving and mindfulness; Gain tools to manage setbacks and maintain progress.

Ask your GP for a referral or visit their website to sign up.

www.thebiglifegroup.com/service/talking-therapies-manchester/

Regular Activities

Friday Community hub @ JNR8 – 10-1pm

 Walking Mums Club is now in Alexandra Park every Tuesday at 11:30am!

Join a friendly group of local mums for fresh air, gentle exercise, good chats, and real connection. Walk, talk, laugh, and share your journey — pre or post-partum. Meet outside the Pavilion Café and stick around after for a brew! 

NEW BOOST COURSE STARTING IN SEPTEMBER

EMAIL US/CALL US TO BOOK YOUR PLACE: SEE POSTER FOR CONTACT DETAILS

JNR8 (pronounced generate) is a warm and welcoming space for our community to meet with others, and on Fridays you are welcome to drop in to our Warm Hub, have a cuppa and a crumpet/piece of toast, fruit – and soup and a roll when the weather is colder!

Whalley Range Community Forum Warm Welcome Space page:

https://www.warmwelcome.uk/space?l=17701

Find other local Warm Welcome Spaces at: https://www.warmwelcome.uk

Chorlton Repair Café

Chorlton’s Repair Café takes place on the second Saturday of every month from 10am to 12 noon at St Margaret’s Centre, Brantingham Road, M21 0TT. The friendly volunteers fix and repair electricals, bikes, lamps, household items, toys and more for free. They save around 60-70% of items brought in from being thrown away. If you have skills that you think would be helpful and would like to volunteer please contact chorltonrepaircafe@gmail.com

News from the Friends of Alexandra Park…

The Friends and Café Bembe are joining forces to help park users give an approved type of food to the birds that live on the Lake. The food chosen is called “Duck and Swan Mix” from Vine Farms, an established supplier of specialised bird foods.

People will be guided by a notice at the Lake side to go to the Café and ask at the counter for a small paper bag of food. In this pilot stage of the arrangements, they will be asked to make a small donation for each bag.

On receiving the bag the Café staff will also give the person guidance on how and where to throw the food so that the wildfowl gets it rather than the pigeons.

A place to belong, make friends and have a place to talk…

WEDNESDAY YOUTH NIGHTS | 7 – 8.30pm
St Werburgh’s Chorlton

This weekly, free youth club is open for young people of all backgrounds in secondary school.

Keen to come join? It’s easy.
All the info and consent forms on our website.
www.stwchorlton.org/youth
Or if you’re getting dropped off we’ve got paper copies for parents to fill out too.

We can’t wait to see you! 

https://www.facebook.com /TalkCleanAirWR

Health & Wellbeing

This exciting new social group for people with leg conditions and those who are feeling isolated is on Wednesdays at JNR8 from 11:45-1:30pm

Who’s who at your GP practice

Our campaign aims to improve the understanding of the different professionals working in a general practice, including the skills, experience and benefits that different roles bring to patient care.

We want to help you understand what different members of the general practice team do and why you may be seen by someone other than a GP.

Click the link to find out more:

Who’s Who at your local GP Practice

Children and Young People

Spaces in our rainbow unit for girls aged 4 to 7 years in Whalley Range.

Rainbows have fun learning new things with friends and earn badges by taking part in activities.

We meet at St Edmunds church on Alexandra Road South on Fridays (during term time) from 6.15 to 7.15 pm.

We have spaces in our guide unit for girls aged 10 to 14 years in Whalley Range

Our activities are for all abilities and girls enjoy trying new things and have the opportunity try different activities

We meet at St Edmunds church on Alexandra Road South on a Friday evening (in term time) from 7.30 to 9.00pmdays out further afield (contains links outside our website)

News, Exhibitions & Meetings

Plans for Russell Road, including the first purpose-built LGBTQ+ majority Extra Care scheme in the UK, are now moving forward following the recent appointment of Great Places Housing Group as the new preferred provider.

The Extra Care scheme will form part of the new development on the site of the former Spire Hospital. It will offer affordable self-contained homes for people aged 55+ with access to flexible care and support services on-site if needed, enabling residents to keep their independence and stay in their home if their care needs change. All partners involved are delighted that the project is moving ahead. This is a great opportunity to develop and deliver a Centre of Excellence in Manchester providing safe, respectful and identity confirming Independent Living and Extra Care services for the LGBTQ+ community.

Co-production will be a key part of the scheme’s development. Great Places is working in close partnership with the Community Steering Group (made up of representatives from the local, LGBTQ+ and older people’s communities), LGBT Foundation and Manchester City Council to ensure the scheme achieves its agreed purpose and creates a lasting positive addition to Whalley Range. The Community Steering Group is already meeting with the project team. Initial meetings included a walkabout of the local area to look at how the scheme will fit in with existing buildings and architecture and to map out the existing nearby amenities and services. Planned future sessions include a visit to Elmswood Park Extra Care Scheme, and a trip to the LGBT Foundation Archive at Central Library. These sessions will form an important part of informing the co-production process as the Steering Group works with Great Places to develop design proposals for the planned development.

We also anticipate that site surveys and investigations will also begin at Russell Road in August, so neighbours are likely to see activity on the site at that time. As the project progresses, we will provide further updates, sharing proposed plans with the local community ahead of sending these for planning permission later in the year.

If you’re interested in becoming involved in this exciting project, the Community Steering Group is looking to expand its membership and particularly wants to expand the diversity and inclusion of the group. For more information on how you can get involved contact Adam Preston from LGBT Foundation at adam.preston@lgbt.foundation

Volunteering

Welcome to Greater Manchester Mature Minds Matter!

The purpose of our network is to ensure the voice of older people with lived experience of mental health are able to use their experiences to influence the transformation of mental health support across Greater Manchester.

​We are here to join up existing networks and recruit individual members to act as experts by experience and leaders to inform issues around age-appropriateness, awareness, language, stigma, access and interventions. We aim to support and empower individuals and provide lived experience expertise to various projects across Greater Manchester such as complex emotional needs, eating disorders and self-harm.

​We recently renamed our network from the Greater Manchester Older People’s Mental Health Network to Greater Manchester Mature Minds Matter.

​We are always looking for people to join our growing network, so if you are interested and would like to learn more or have an informal conversation, please contact sophie@macc.org.uk or call 

0161 834 9823.

Sport/Active Lifestyle

Support

Our mobile food clubs give access to nutritious and affordable food taken into the heart of communities starved of money, food and resources. This low cost weekly shop provides essential produce for family eating – fresh fruit and veg, fridge favourites and cupboard staples.

Read more:

https://www.breadandbutterthing.org/become-a-member

Festivals and special events

Chorlton and Whalley Range Dementia Action Group is a Community group raising awareness and making our area a better place for people with dementia

About Chorlton and Whalley Range Dementia Action Group

Chorlton and Whalley Range Dementia Action Group alongside other residents and VCFSE groups have created 3 leaflets for people with dementia, carers and family and friends.

The group run local events and activities in Chorlton and Whalley Range to raise the profile of what it means to live with Dementia, and support family and carers who can often become very isolated.

One of the most recent activities has been to collaborate with some local carers and create a set of leaflets about Behaviour Change that comes with Dementia – people often think of Dementia being mainly about memory loss but actually the changes in behaviour that usually come with Dementia can be far more difficult to accept, as people can become quite different (in likes, dislikes and temperament) from the person you used to know.

CWRAG.001.24 – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AW PAGES

This leaflet is for people new to caring for someone with dementia to understand more about behaviour changes

CWRAG.001.24 – FOR CARERS AW PAGES

It can be tricky to know how to ‘help’ someone who is caring for a relative with dementia – so this leaflet has some insights and ideas

CWRAG.001.24 – FAMILY FRIENDS NEIGHBOURS AW PAGES

Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/243214566043358/

Trifold leaflets:

CWRAG.001.24-FAMILY-FRIENDS-NEIGHBOURS-AW (1)TF

CWRAG.001.24-WHAT-YOU-NEED-TO-KNOW-AW (1)TF

CWRAG.001.24-FOR-CARERS-AW (1)TF

Previous publication from the Chorlton and Whalley Range Dementia Action Group in 2020…

#10BigIdeas

The Chorlton and Whalley Range Dementia Action Group has the ambition of making where we live a great place to be for people living with dementia, and their carers and families. Although Dementia is mostly associated with older age, there are also 40,000 people with young-onset dementia in the UK. If 1 in every 14 of the population aged 65 years and over is living with dementia the chances are that you know someone or live close to someone who has dementia.

Chorlton and Whalley Range Dementia Action Group was started in 2016 by two local people who have some personal experience of dementia. Four years later we are a small but enthusiastic group of local residents and professionals that meet monthly and our recent work has focussed on creating a booklet entitled ’10 Big Ideas for Making Our Community a Better Place for People Living with Dementia’. Research shows that well-resourced neighbourhoods allow people living with dementia to get out and about; maintain connections with people outside of their family; and play an active role in the social life of local places (Dr Sarah Campbell, Dementia and Ageing Research Team, the University of Manchester). The #10BigIdeas booklet is designed to spark community interest and really encourage people to think about how they can play their part in helping to shape neighbourhoods, ensuring that physical spaces, groups and activities are accessible to all; including people living with dementia.

The Dementia Action Group really hope that #10BigIdeas will start conversations in your local community groups, streets and neighbourhoods about how we can all make a difference, and open up opportunities for people living with dementia. What ideas can you try?

Click on the picture to read the booklet…

(Information posted on this website does not necessarily reflect the views of the Whalley Range Community Forum/Age-friendly Whalley Range & Chorlton)

Dear All

The Whalley Range Community Forum have drawn together ‘a Statement of Intent’ for solidarity, support and actions within our community. We aim to share the statement with as many people as possible within Whalley Range, via local groups, mutual aid/street groups etc.

Many of us are feeling vulnerable, shocked and angry about recent events and the ongoing situation.

Our common aim is to strengthen relationships in our community and to feel reassured by working together.

This page on our website is dedicated to the Statement of Intent and this action – and if any groups would like to share the actions they are taking, please email WRCF – and we will add to the page.

The page will also feature links to wider support and information.

Please send this message through all your networks and share with others

Wider community statements and support links coming soon…

A message to communities from Greater Manchester Police

We understand the uncertainty and worry that people are feeling about current tension, much of which is being fuelled by the widespread sharing of misinformation online which is sometimes being created with the purpose of creating fear and inciting intolerable hate.

Our advice to communities is to remain calm and to try to go about your everyday life. GMP continues to monitor the intelligence to ensure we can respond effectively to any incidents of disorder. And, if we believe there needs to be specific information about anything emerging we will tell people and offer advice.

We are heavily resourced, and we have specialist officers and staff who are working around the clock to tackle these issues and ensure our communities are supported. We are speaking to community leaders and elected representatives regularly to make sure they are apprised of all planned protests known to GMP. People living safely and peacefully, do not deserve to be frightened: we are here to protect you, and we will use all resources and capabilities to do so.

Our message is clear: there is no place for hate in Greater Manchester. If you come here to willingly participate in disorder and crime, we will be at your door, ensuring you answer for your crimes. We will police without fear or favour and use all resources and powers available to ensure those involved in this disgraceful behaviour are dealt with robustly.

This has been demonstrated with our relentless pursuit of offenders, many of whom have been arrested not only in Greater Manchester, but with the support of police colleagues across the UK and we have made crucial arrests in West Yorkshire and Lancashire.

To date, we have made 26 arrests for a variety of offences including assault, violent disorder, possession of weapons, and 20 have been charged. There is work to be done, and we will not relent until we have systematically located and dealt with all those responsible.

We ask that you remain vigilant. If you see something, or hear something, that does not feel right, report it to us so we can act.

All information and reports will be handled with the utmost severity and sensitivity. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, information can be shared anonymously with the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111. We don’t need to know who you are; we just need your information and concerns.

These are challenging times, but we are immensely proud to see the majority of our residents standing together and condemning this unacceptable disorder. Your unwavering support has not gone unnoticed.

We are always looking for Volunteers…

Celebrate festival – Getting involved

Hello All 

The Celebrate festival organisers are requesting volunteers to help with this year’s event on June 8th at Manley Park – with the theme ‘Crossing Oceans’

If anyone is interested in getting involved, this could be in a range of ways:

– volunteering on the day e.g. a spell on the gate, volunteers food etc

– help with set up and take down

– provide prizes/vouchers for the raffle

– join the planning group

Please contact Carol – email carol.packham96@gmail.com –  if you would like to volunteer.

Thanks in advance 

Also – if anyone is interested in hosting a community stall to promote your local group or pay a small fee to run a stall selling craft items etc – contact Verity –  the Celebrate Coordinator – at celebratewhalleyrange@gmail.com

Whalley Range Community Forum and Whalley Range Youth Opportunity Association invite you to join them at

Celebrate Festival 2024 ‘Crossing Oceans’

Saturday 8^th June 12 noon – 6pm

Manley Park, Clarendon Rd, Whalley Range, M16 0AS

June 8^th is UN Day of Oceans and our theme this year is ‘Crossing Oceans’, celebrating the diversity of Whalley Range and exploring wider climate issues. We look forward to seeing how our artists, performers and stall holders explore these ideas.

This is the 27^th Celebrate Festival and our principles remain the same.

We bring together a wide range of community partners in Whalley Range to put on an exciting day of free activities celebrating the very best of our fantastic community, with a focus on fun, creativity and wellbeing, but also looking at serious issues.  In the run up to the event we run workshops and pop up events in schools and a wide range of community settings.

The festival is run by volunteers from the community and staff from WRCF and WRYOA, working with partners from other local groups, businesses, schools and statutory services. However we are grateful for the professional assistance of our project coordinators and artists.

Our Festival Coordinator this year is Verity Gardner and our Music Programmers are Chia Norris and Ben Price.

The festival is made possible by donations from individuals and local businesses, fundraising by volunteers and grants from funders including National Lottery Awards for All and Manchester City Council.

The Aims of Celebrate:

• To celebrate the talent, diversity and resources of Whalley Range
• To promote positive image and improve quality of life in Whalley Range
• To encourage participation of different communities within the area and work from an anti-discriminatory framework.

If you want to get involved with Celebrate contact us at: celebratewhalleyrange@gmail.com or call 0161 881 3744

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE DETAILS AND THE CELEBRATE PROGRAMME – COMING SOON…

CELEBRATE FESTIVAL REPORT 2023

Scroll down further for the history of Celebrate…

The Celebrate festival 2023

Contact celebratewhalleyrange@gmail.com to get involved 

The aims of the group are to:-

– Celebrate the talent, diversity and resources of Whalley Range

– Promote a positive image of the area and improve the quality of life

– Encourage participation of the different communities within the area,

– Work in an anti-discriminatory and inclusive way (i.e. be low cost and barrier free).

The event is held in partnership between Whalley Range Youth Opportunities Association and the Whalley Range Community Forum.

We are committed to working with  everyone in the community – especially newly established groups who have been supported to develop by the Forum and that all groups are represented to celebrate our diversity and showcase our local talent, building and maintaining links across the community.

We strive to challenge any negative perceptions people may have with regard to Whalley Range by encouraging active cross cultural community involvement in our age-friendly festival events, workshops and activities,strengthening community cohesion and encouraging participation from residents from all of the diverse cultures that exist within our ward.

A consultation was circulated about Celebrate: some of the responses are below.

Q1: How does the Celebrate Festival bring the Whalley Range community together?

Q2: Why is an event that brings members of a very diverse community together important?

• An event which caters for all ages, young, old and in-between! One that has activities that are attractive to a wide range of cultures and interest groups.
• Something for everybody. One of the highlights of the Whalley Range year.
• Whalley Range has a diverse society, lots of religions and cultures and Celebrate Festival reflects this.
• it brings rich, poor, middle-class, working-class, young and old together and those from other ethnic minorities besides English.
• This is an opportunity for the vast number of small voluntary and community groups to showcase what they are involved in and promote their activities.
• It a chance for neighbours to get together in an informal way. With so many people leading busy lives, it really wonderful to see everyone from across the community in the same place enjoying the activities, information sharing and each other company.
• Community cohesion and integration must be encouraged to avoid people feeling isolated, abandoned and rejected. Events like this promote community cohesion.
• In diverse communities like Whalley Range it is often not the case that people from the diverse range all get along. Often the different groups are isolated from each other and never really mix. Events like this are a good way to get people from the wide range of groups to talk to each other and share commonalities as well as celebrate difference.
• It inclusive, everyone has a chance to get involved and it a chance to participate in free workshops
• Because we are all human beings and Celebrate brings human beings regardless of their shape or colour together to have fun and learn. In full: www.whalleyrange.org/communityforum/celebrate-survey-what-did-people-say-about-the-festival/

Celebrate is an ideal platform for local community groups to host a stall to promote themselves and get people involved in having a say in their community

Celebrate Report 2011

Celebrate_Report 2012_CR

Celebrate_Report 2013FINAL

Celebrate_Festival_Report 2015

http://wryoa.org/category/celebrate/

https://www.facebook.com/pg/CelebrateFestivalWhalleyRange/about/?ref=page_internal

Read the latest Celebrate Report from 2018 here:

 CELEBRATE REPORT 2018 FINAL SMALL (1)

The Celebrate Festival 2018

Celebrate 2018 in pictures!

A short video capture and photos of the Whalley Range Celebrate Festival by Andrew Thompson

Filmed by Andrew Thompson Celebrate 2017 snapshot¦Read More…

Community Contact Booklet Whalley Range Community Forum_interactive

The Winter Warm Welcome Spaces website has been updated and relaunched so you can search for local spaces.

Find our JNR8 Community Warm Hub details here:

We will share information from support agencies and community groups regularly on this page.

1. News & Events
2. Advice Line
3. Whalley Range Climate Action Group advice
4. Whalley Range Community Forum Cost of Living support leaflet
5. Benefits, protecting your health
6. Easy Read winter health advice
7. Warm Hubs
8. Other advice

Council support if you’re in financial difficulty

https://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/200008/benefits_and_support/8335/discretionary_payments_and_grants 

LOW-COST RECIPE BOOK IS HERE This Easter, we can announce a free low-cost recipe book we have developed in collaboration with local NHS nutritionist Lucy Blackstone. Over the Easter holidays, we will be distributing over 20,000 copies to families in need across Manchester. We believe that no child should go hungry. We believe in widening access not only to activity, but to the knowledge of healthy eating and nutritious cooking for Mancunians young and old. With this recipe book, we hope to do just that. Eating well doesn’t have to break the bank, by sharing simple and affordable recipes, we can help families stretch their budgets further. Ensuring that everyone in Manchester has access to delicious and nutritious food, helping you become healthier and happier. View and download your copy of the book here.

To support Manchester residents through the cost-of-living crisis, Manchester City Council will be providing an advice line that will offer:

1. Support with benefits and help with your rent (this is an existing offer made available through the contact centre)

2. Advice about debt and paying bills (this will be done in conjunction with Citizen Advice Manchester)

3. Food support (residents will receive a call back to understand their needs and connected into a local food offer)
4. Support getting online (residents will be linked in with the Council’s digital inclusion team)

How to contact

The advice line can be accessed via a free phone number 0800 023 2692. The line will be open 9:00-4:30 Monday to Friday.

Agents on the phone line will have access to language line for those residents whose first language is not English
Sign Video will also be available for residents who may require this facility.

An on line form will be available at https://www.manchester.gov.uk/helpinghands for those who do not
wish to contact by phone.

The advice line will also have its own web page that will have links to information of how residents are
able to access support. https://www.manchester.gov.uk/helpinghands

Whalley Range Climate Action Group  energy saving information

PDF:    leaflet_A4_pgs1_2 leaflet_A4_pgs3_4

PDF Version (clearer with clickable links) WRCF Cost of Living leaflet Print

Easy Read format Winter Vaccination and Cost of Living advice 

Winter Help Leaflet v4

Warm spaces are opening up across the city: a place to keep warm and save on energy costs, a place to get advice, a cuppa, spend time with others or enjoy some quiet time.

St Margaret’s Centre welcome you to their Warm Cafe every Thursday from 13th October-1pm-3pm, over the colder months.

Energy Price Guarantee 

From 1 October 2022, the Energy Price Guarantee will reduce the unit cost of electricity and gas so that a typical household in Great Britain pays, on average, around £2,500 a year on their energy bill, for the next 2 years. Beware of scams – there is no need to apply and you will never be asked for bank details.

This will save the average household at least £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October and is in addition to the £400 energy bills discount for all households.

More information

Click the link or photo below to read this year’s Celebrate Festival report from June 2023…

CELEBRATE FESTIVAL REPORT 2023

The Snowdrop Curve film…

How did Covid affect you?  three events were organised earlier in the year for people to gather, discuss and write about their experiences through Covid…

Last year the Covid Commemorative Curve of Snowdrops was planted by people from Whalley Range, in Alexandra Park. The curve symbolises the ups and downs of the pandemic and the plants will make a green and living memorial, a place to reflect on the loss and pain that came with Covid.

This year we want to honour your experiences of living through Covid. We are organising gatherings where you can talk with others and share experiences. A local poet, Tony Curry, will work with you, to write and record your thoughts as poems.

Your words will be recorded and combined with songs performed by local schoolchildren to create a short film. The interpretation board QR code in the park will link to the film.

This will be a further commemoration of our responses to the Covid events.

GATHERINGS to talk and write; choose a date and time that works for you.

Tuesday 17^th January 1045 to 1300 at the Pavilion Café in Alexandra Park.

Tuesday 17^th January at 1715 to 1930 at British Muslim Heritage Centre, College Road M16

Thursday 19^th January 1045 to 1300 at the Pavilion Café in Alexandra Park.

Booking not essential, just come along on your chosen date.

On Feb 11^th 2023 at 11am come and see the curve of snowdrops in flower.

Tea and coffee will be served from the Park Lodge.

WRCF-Annual-Report-2021 (1)

Thanks to everyone who got involved in our festival with a difference!

CELEBRATE FESTIVAL REPORT 2021

We are doing something different this year!

Click on the headings to find out what this years’ festival is all about – and keep checking this site and our Facebook page for the latest news!

Download the Celebrate Connections Festival Programme here!

Celebrate programme-2021-final

1. About Celebrate 2021

2. Call Out to Artists

3. Celebrate (Musical) Connections

4. The History of Celebrate…

5.  Festival Zoom Sessions: getting ready for Celebrate and learn something new!

6. Meet the Artists and contributors

7.  Music line-up and Buskers

8. Celebrate Connections on the art trail…

Ways to get involved in the Festival…

Festival Packs

Our free Celebrate Connections festival packs are  ready for people to collect from JNR8! (or receive via our volunteers) Art packs, seeding growing packs and wellbeing packs  – and  decorate your window packs too!

COLLECT ON THURSDAY JUNE 10th –  between 10-12  noon

Keep checking this page and Celebrate on Facebook for festival updates!

Celebrate – Whalley Range Community Festival

WRCF Annual Report 2020