A DILAPIDATED park area in Bury has been given some “welly” by council officials.

Part of Manchester Road Park has been transformed into a cafe and community hub called The Welly.

The community cafe and bowling club was opened by the Mayor of Bury, Cllr Michelle Wiseman, and other guests present included Bury Council leader, Cllr Mike Connolly.

The project is the idea of Bury Employment Support and Training (Bury EST) which took over the management of the Manchester Road Park bowling facility in April.

Since then, they have worked to expand the facilities, keeping the bowling green going while transforming the pavilion into a multi-purpose community hub incorporating the cafe and a training centre.

The centre will provide opportunities to improve the confidence, self esteem, health and independence of disabled and disadvantaged local residents. At the same time, the project will increase volunteering opportunities.

It is hoped the scheme will also break down barriers by engaging the community and allowing people living with disability and in disadvantaged circumstances to build connections with a range of community activities.

Training will cover catering, front of house, money handling as well as green keeping, grounds maintenance and horticulture.

By improving skills through qualifications and on-the-job training, Bury EST wants to increase confidence, self esteem and independence of customers and maximise their chances of meaningful employment.

Mike Spurr, Bury EST manager, said: “We’ve worked tirelessly with more than 35 customers and volunteers to raise funds and convert the grounds and pavilion into a working bowling club and operating cafe.

“Our customers come from a variety of disabled or disadvantaged backgrounds. Already, we have seen them working together as a team and involving community police officers and the council’s ground maintenance colleagues.

“The project is taking shape, not only in the physical sense of the buildings and the safe surroundings. We have seen a marked increase in the health and mobility of our customers, together with an improvement in their confidence and self esteem.

“The success of the project to date has been so astonishing that Bury EST is now in a position to offer employment to three customers, working predominately at the park, with the potential of affording more employment.”