AN old cellar at a bustling community centre will be transformed into a training cafe and kitchen to provide homeless people and rough sleepers with skills to get back into work.

A programme of work will see the basement at the Mosses Centre, in Cecil Street, completely revamped and modernised.

Plans have taken a huge leap forward thanks to a £52,000 grant award from the Garfield Weston Foundation.

It is hoped the new learning space will be used by up to 50 people throughout the year, including students and people with complex learning needs.

Centre manager Anne McGladdery said: "This is about offering opportunity to people who are normally isolated or have physical limitations, or emotional barriers to overcome, and giving them somewhere to go where they can have fun, meet with others, find friends, and develop skills which will hopefully help them into employment.

"The aim is to get people eating healthily on a budget, and staying safe in the kitchen. We are looking to work with Bury Jobcentre to bring in the unemployed, as well as working with veterans, the homeless, the elderly and people who are isolated, and schools in the area.

"It is not often that people can come into a fully equipped training kitchen like this."

The initial phase of the project will see the existing 20ft cellar ripped out, including asbestos. Construction teams will also need to rewire the electrics and improve the plumbing.

Next, stainless steel beams will be installed around the ceiling, new flooring will be fitted, and metal work benches will be added. A large cooker, fridge freezer, and kitchen utensils will also be purchased, as well as an industrial washer and dryer to clean clothes for visiting homeless.

Anne said: "It will be a proper kitchen. It will be amazing when it is done."

The Mosses Centre is used by between 700 and 800 people every week, and home to more than 30 community groups.

It provides community services for children, young people, young adults, disability groups, as well as older people.

Staff at the centre are celebrating the receipt of this latest funding, which will benefits dozens more people, and comes in response to a grant application that was made to the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Philippa Charles, director of the Garfield Weston Foundation, said: "The Mosses Centre is an excellent example of a charity organisation thriving at the heart of the community. From running an overnight café for the homeless to providing training, they work enormously hard. Our trustees were delighted to make a Weston Anniversary Fund donation towards a new café and kitchen which will provide more opportunities for the community at a time when vital local amenities are under pressure."

Anne said: "I'm really grateful to the Garfield Weston Foundation. This is a fantastic award of money that will make a massive difference to the lives of so many."