THE committee which took over the Dumers Lane Community Centre is urging members of the local area to take ownership of the hub.

Dozens of people have begun using the centre since the Friends of Dumers Lane Community Centre took over the running of the site in mid-August.

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A new after school club is due to launch next week, headed up by a qualified school assistant.

The first session will be held at 7pm on Tuesday, to provide GCSE preparation and support for 14 to 16-year-olds, taking place once every fortnight thereafter.

Support from the Rotary Club of Radcliffe has enabled the hour-long clubs to go ahead.

Committee member Nicole Haydock said: "It is quite remarkable what we have achieved since taking over the building in August. Several residents, including an over 50s group, have already begun using the centre. We are moving forward with a programme of activities.

"Long-term we would like to see the after school clubs develop for other year groups."

The team is launching a book swap group which will use the existing stock of some 2,000 books that were left to them by the Council.

The first book swap will take place on Friday, November 16, and once every fortnight thereafter, between 2pm and 4pm.

A book sale will take place at 11am on Saturday, to down-scale the number of books in their collection. However, they will keep hold of reference books, hard-backs and large print items.

"The biggest learning curve has been making it a shared responsibility", Nicole said.

"The centre is run for the community by the community and we need people to get behind it.

"The Rotarians kindly donated £410 to help us set up a 12-month broadband contract which is brilliant.

"Paul Kay from Quartzelec Ltd also came to our rescue by giving his own time to make our electrics safe."

Volunteers have distributed more than 600 copies of the group's first newsletter this week.

To get involved, visit the Save Dumers Lane Community Centre & Library Facebook page or call Nicole on 0161 705 1560.