A GROUP bidding to take over the running of Dumers Lane Community Centre and Library is inviting residents to share their ideas for the building’s future.

Friends of Dumers Lane Community Centre have submitted an expression of interest to Bury Council to run the library, and want to bring residents and community groups together to hear how they would like to see it used.

The ‘Let’s Get Buzzing’ planning event will be held at the library on Tuesday, October 17, from 7pm to 9pm.

Sue Fernandez, one of the organisers of the event, said: “All community groups and local residents are invited to the event to explore the opportunities of keeping the centre going for the benefit of the area.

“We have a very energetic group eager to ensure the needs of the local Radcliffe and Redvales residents are not neglected. As a library it is never massively busy, but as a community centre it is used a lot so we want to restore that or else the community is in danger of losing its base.We may not be able to keep the library and the centre as it is, but I am sure that we can create a vibrant asset to benefit the community.”

The centre is currently used by a number of groups, including a Knit & Natter group, and an over-50s group which meets on a Thursday afternoon.

Earlier this year, the council announced that they would be closing 10 of the borough’s 14 libraries in order to save money.

Last month, the council said that they were inviting applications from local groups wishing to take over the running of six of the sites: Coronation Road, Dumers Lane, Topping Fold, Tottington, Unsworth and Whitefield.

Friends of Dumers Lane Community Centre are one of 14 groups to have submitted an expression of interest about running one of the centres before the October 2 deadline. They must now submit a business plan by November 17.

Should the group be successful in their bid, then they have been told it will cost them £3,400 a year to maintain the centre. They hope to raise a large portion of that by renting out the two upstairs offices as well as through fundraising, and applying for a National Lottery grant.