Category: Whalley Range Community Forum
The Whalley Range Community Forum (WRCF) is a voluntary representative residents group formed in 1995 to facilitate and improve communication between members of the community and those who serve/represent Whalley Range.
The Forum act as an umbrella organisation, bringing residents and local services together to address local issues, to promote consultation and community cohesion – and to encourage participation.
The Forum produces a bimonthly newsletter and residents meetings to address local concerns with Police, Councillors, local council and planning officials, sends out a regular email bulletins featuring opportunities, events and news to around 400 residents from Whalley Range – and co-facilitates an annual local community festival.
The Forum worker supports new and emerging groups to access funding to set up their own community groups, holds funds for unconstituted groups and addresses resident priorities by facilitating relevant classes at the JNR8 centre during school term times.
Classes and initiatives for the diverse local community include mixed and women-only ESOL classes, women fitness, Tai Chi, confidence building sessions, basic computer and work club support and art and wellbeing classes and afternoon tea for older residents. JNR8 is also registered as a Third Party Hate Crime Reporting Centre.
The community website features local news and events, consultation links, age-friendly news and current vacancies and opportunities.
Follow @WhalleyRangeorg and @AgeFriendlyWR on Twitter
JNR8 Youth & Community Centre, 82 Cromwell Avenue, Whalley Range, M16 0BG
Tel: 0161 881 3744 | Email: communityforumwhalleyrange@gmail.com agefriendlywhalleyrange@gmail.com
Celebrate Festival 8th June 2024!
Meet the Celebrate 2024 Coordinator – Verity Gardner!
We are delighted to announce that Verity Gardner has been appointed as Festival Coordinator for Celebrate 2024 – Crossing Oceans. We had an unusually strong field of candidates but Verity’s long experience in festival production and grassroots organising won the day!
“Hi, I’m Verity and super happy to be part of Celebrate festival 2024.
I’ve been putting on and going to gigs and festivals for over 20 years. I thrive on producing quality community events and working with great teams. We have such a rich and exciting scene in Manchester and Whalley Range is the ideal place to showcase our talents and ability to have loads of fun.
Please get in touch if you have ideas or would like to be involved.
Thank you and see you on the 8th June in Manley Park!”
More news coming soon!
We are absolutely thrilled to
announce that we have secured funding for this years’ main event in the Whalley Range Calendar –
CELEBRATE!!
Add the date to your diary: Saturday 8th June 2024 in Manley Park from 12-6PM!
More details very soon – watch this space!
Whalley Range Climate Action Group
Whalley Range Climate Action Group
Everyone welcome to come along to discuss the climate emergency with other concerned people and get involved in actions to make Whalley Range a more sustainable place to live. We meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month and eat a vegetarian/vegan lunch together after the meeting. Bring a little food to share if you can at the JNR8 Youth & Community Centre, 82 Cromwell Ave, M16 0BG
Local people and organisations taking action to address
the climate emergency.
climateaction@whalleyrangers.org
@RangeAction
Facebook: Whalley Range Climate Action
Group
Judith – 07792 690 278
See the Whalley Range Climate Action Group’s leaflet below on keeping warm, saving energy, and getting financial help for insulation and bills…
PDF leaflet: leaflet_A4_pgs1_2 leaflet_A4_pgs3_4
Click here for the June 2022 issue of the Whalley Range Climate Action Newsletter
NEWSLETTER June 22
March 2022
Local community groups and residents creating a MASS PLANTING OF SNOWDROPS in Alexandra Park Whalley Range Manchester yesterday.
We worked on this together because we want to COMMEMORATE THOSE WHO SUFFERED FROM COVID AND THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES, as well as the hard work of all those who cared for us during the pandemic. Planting snowdrops will CONNECT ALL OUR COMMUNITIES IN A COLLABORATIVE MEMORIAL to CREATE A CONTEMPLATIVE SPACE for us to remember the suffering and pain of loss every year.
Why Snowdrops?
Snowdrops flower in February, the time when the pandemic started in Europe, and once planted they will come back every year at that time as a living reminder. Snowdrops are pure white and tear shaped, symbolising grief, yet their arrival is often seen as the first sign of the returning spring and returning hope. This Curve will beautify the space permanently and expand every year as the snowdrops set seeds and spread under the trees.
A huge thank you to Avril from the Whalley Range Climate Action Group for dreaming of this, making it happen and organising the sun and to everyone who came out to plant snowdrops, including our MP Afzal Khan and our local councillors Aftab and Bano.
Newsletter May 21
May 2020 Update
The Whalley Range Climate Action Group would like to thank everyone for everything they are doing to keep people in our area safe and well and a special thank you to all the key workers who are doing so much for us all.
Although the Covid experience is terrible for so many people in so many ways we have seen some positive benefits for us and the climate, especially the reduction in carbon use, less pollution and more walking and cycling. We have been using our air quality monitors to measure the air quality in Whalley Range and are delighted to report that the pollution levels have been inside the World Health Organisation safe levels all through the lockdown. This is fantastic news for our health and our challenge is keeping the air safe as the lockdown ends.
A group of us have been studying the Amsterdam City Doughnut, a tool to make places ‘home to thriving people in a thriving place while respecting the wellbeing of all people and the health of the whole planet.’ We have been meeting every week to talk about how we could use the ideas in Whalley Range and the first step will be to make the Whalley Range Selfie. Watch this space for more details of how to get involved.
We are supporting the new Whalley Range Walk Ride group which will work to promote more walking and cycling in our area.
We printed a newsletter just before lockdown, please text or ring Judith on 07792 690 278 if you would like a copy/ copies posted through your door. We are really looking forward to meeting people again when it is safe.
Read the groups 1st edition Newsletter here:
WHALLEY RANGE CLIMATE ACTION GROUP NEWSLETTER final
Whalley Range Climate Action Plan
Introduction 2
Our current emissions 2
General information about Whalley Range 3
Average carbon footprint of a UK resident 6
Strategies for carbon reduction in Whalley Range 9
Existing organisations, social networks and projects 10
Sources 15
Read in full below:
Whalley Range Climate Action Plan
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Whalley Range Climate Action Group upcoming meetings:
The Whalley Range Climate Action Group meet at JNR8 Community Centre (back of Manley Park Church)
_____________________________________________________________
The Whalley Range Community Forum have produced the Whalley Range Community Forum Climate Emergency Statement and Strategies working document.
Read it here: WRCF Climate Emergency Policy and Strategies November 2019
_______________________________________________________________
Notes from the meeting on Sat 7 September from 11-1pm:
Blog for steady State Manchester on Whalley Range Climate action Group (WRCAG)
Climate change is a tricky subject. Some people deny it, are ignorant about it or think it is nothing to do with them. On the other hand, many are terrified by what a globally heated world will hold for them, their children and for the future of millions of our fellow humans. The Guardian newspaper suggests we intensify the very language we use with phrases like climate emergency, climate crisis and global heating instead of climate change and global warming.
However, both denial and terror risk confining us to a similar, paralysed, state of inaction, so that nothing changes. What are the paths out of this immobilisation?
A tiny group of residents in Whalley Range got talking about climate change. While we fully support the national and international actions of Extinction Rebellion/Friends of the Earth/Climate Justice and all the other efforts being made to promote real change, the phrase Thinking globally and acting locally also spurred us to think about what we can do right now, right here, in our own locality of Whalley Range.
We started locally and small, using word of mouth to find fellowship, trying to remain humble and open to ideas. The group grew in size steadily and we now have dozens of interested parties. Initially, I thought we would be a kind of retrofit support group, trying to help each other get properly insulated, reduce our energy usage, become car free and work out better ways to have flight free holidays. It has become a lot more than that.
Conversation triggered us to act, and we began by extending those conversations into our community. We listened to each other and to the residents we met at our simple stalls at community events. In no time we had a presence at Celebrate, (an annual local festival), at Ecofest, an event run by a local church, at the Windrush event in a local park We joined in an inspiring Clean Air Day action, when streets were closed around schools to enable pollution free walking and most joyously of all free street play for the children. The sounds of birdsong, children playing and people chatting rose out of the car free silence.
What used to be taken for granted, safe walking and children playing out, has become a privilege, that took a huge amount of organisation and preparation to bring about and lasted for less than half a day. This has also reinforced the value of the kinds of conversations we are aiming to have. We do not instruct, but rather, ask Where are you up to with the climate change thing? and What would make Whalley Range a climate safe, buzzing, good place to live?
These discussions were interesting, challenging and produced actionable ideas about what is important here in our own community. Many people in Whalley Range are thinking about climate change, environmental degradation and pollution. They are fed up with the noise, danger and pollution from cars and the limiting effects this has. They feel the constraints: unsafe walking especially for children, asthma increased by pollution, litter everywhere. People were outraged by the plastics they feel they cannot escape, wrapped around everything, all the time. We found much common cause with many other local organisations such as the Whalley Rangers and local wildlife support groups. Many organisations whose prime purpose is not about climate change, for example, Age Friendly Manchester or the local Park support and Heritage groups, joined us in thinking that climate change is their business too and that they can act here in Whalley Range.
It has been exciting to hear these perspectives, to take the street on Clean Air Day, and to discover that residents are willing to discuss these issues. It has made me a little braver to speak about climate change. This week, my lovely neighbour was in the street with two young relatives showing off their new cars. The cars were idling in the street, doors open, he showed me the clever seats. We had met on many occasions, so I felt able to turn the ignition key off and say idling cars are not good for us. I had the same conversation with the man sweeping the street who left his vehicle idling for 30 minutes while he had his lunch break.
Our next meetings will be opportunities to reflect on what we have heard, what our priorities are and to decide what our main actions should be. We think it is likely that not everyone in the group will want to work on the same things. Some will be interested in schools, educating parents and pupils, others in taking the streets away from cars, others in building consensus against plastics in supermarkets, schools and our shopping bags. Connecting with other organisations that work in our area including the National Health Services has been highlighted as a way to make our work more effective locally.
WRACG does not have a manifesto; our first leaflet simply explains who we are local residents working on what we can do about climate change, with a simple list of suggestions to help anyone reduce their impact on the planet. Reducing energy use, going flight free, consuming less, walking, cycling and using public transport, eating a mainly vegetarian diet are all important actions. Having a group of like-minded people around empowers us, to tell others what we are doing and to explore ways we can reduce our carbon emissions.
Another key action is to make our voices heard on this issue, wherever possible, in whichever organisations we are in contact with. Building connections between people will make Whalley Range an Abundant Community, where we know and value our neighbours through shared events and conversations. Then we will have a good life that is also a climate friendly life, here and now.
Massive policy change is needed, for sure, and governments must lead on the bigger changes. But if 10% of people get behind the need to reduce emissions drastically, that a massive opinion former and a strong message to local and central government, that will be hard to ignore. In the 18th century, rich landowners planted trees that they know they would never see to maturity but which are still enjoyed by many of us today. We can take a leaf out of their book and start planning for our descendants instead of just thinking about today and this week.
WRCAG has only been active for a few short months. We will continue to reach out to all the members of our community…different ethnicities, religions, ages, interests. Climate change will damage all of us…we need to work for change together, here, where we live.
Whalley Range Community Map
Welcome to the third edition of the Whalley Range Community Forum Map – with an emphasis on physical and mental health and wellbeing and climate change.
This map was produced by the Whalley Range Community Forum at JNR8 and was part-funded by buzz Manchester Wellbeing Service.
New 2 page MAP A3_v4 (4)
About this map: its history and previous versions…
In Spring 2011 local people voted yes to the idea of a map to celebrate the unique place that is Whalley Range.
A U Decide grant was awarded and, along with generous contributions from local sponsors and volunteers, the map has come to life.
The 2nd Edition features the regeneration of Alexandra Park along with updated listings, new history items and more.
The Whalley Range community map – started out as a U Decide proposal by Fiona Nicholls of the Forum’s Health & Sustainability group – and was successfully put forward to the community for votes for a share of a community grant in Whalley Range.
The first edition was produced in 2012 with a suggested donation of £1 – and any donations collected were fed back to the community groups and projects based at JNR8.
The map attracted a lot of interest – and a 2nd edition in 2013/2014 was funded by donations and sponsorship from local businesses.
The map exceeded all expectations in terms of how it was used: as well as an information resource (the map features stories and local history articles) the map was used by many of our community organisations and as part of our projects as a resource tool.
Our ESOL classes based some of their teaching sessions around the map with questions about the local area and a trip out identifying local key locations using a list of questions/directions – and a map to source the answers.
Maps have always been distributed at our community events and to new attendees to our classes and JNR8 events to help people to get around: when it was first produced it was not unusual to see people wandering around the local area armed with a map to locate some of the listed areas of interest with their children and visitors!
The Age-friendly Manchester launch featured a workshop from the Forum based around setting up an age-friendly network for older residents: the map was used to plan how to link up with people, as a ‘mapping’ exercise!
And for the Manchester Ageing Study – in partnership with the University of Manchester – the map was enlarged and used as a consultation tool for residents to identify where they felt safe, most visited areas, where benches should be sited etc.
The map – (along with several magnifying glasses for better accessibility!) – has always been a feature of our community events.
Copies of the map were posted in advance to different EU countries to our 16 participants of the Grundtvig workshop.
Students stayed in Whalley Range with host families for a week and attended a training session on positive numeracy and literacy teaching in deprived European communities. The students arrived from Manchester Airport armed with their maps to locate JNR8 and their host’s homes!
So as you can imagine the map has been a fantastic well used resource – and we were delighted that in association with Age-friendly Manchester – Fiona and the team produced our 3rd edition!
This version of the map focuses on mental and physical health and wellbeing, the age-friendliness of the area – and features local groups who are working with sustainability and green initiatives
Support for the Cost of Living Crisis
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.
- News & Events
- Advice Line
- Whalley Range Climate Action Group advice
- Whalley Range Community Forum Cost of Living support leaflet
- Benefits, protecting your health
- Easy Read winter health advice
- Warm Hubs
- Other advice
Council support if you’re in financial difficulty
Cost of living advice line
Need help with your food, debts, bills, benefits or to get online?
Discretionary Housing payments
For residents who are entitled to Housing Benefit or the Housing Element on Universal Credit, discretionary payments may be available to help if you are struggling to pay your rent. Find out more and apply for Discretionary Housing payments
Discretionary Council Tax payments
If you are experiencing severe financial hardship through unusual circumstances discretionary payments may be available to you if you are struggling to pay your Council Tax. Find out more and apply for Discretionary Council Tax payments.
Furniture/White Goods
If you’re being resettled or supported to move out of temporary accommodation, the Welfare Provision Scheme might be able to help you with basic furnishings for your new home. No cash awards will be made available and, due to the limited funding available and high level of expected claims, only essential needs will be met, unless there are exceptional circumstances. All furniture or goods provided by the Scheme will:
- Be of good quality
- Be covered by a supplier warranty
- Be delivered to and, where applicable, installed at the address provided
- Meet all current regulations including fire protection; all electrical goods will conform to legislation relating to domestic electrical appliances within the UK.
Find out more and apply for basic items of furniture
Fuel Grants
This will be a one off non repayable grant of up to £49 to support residents with an emergency fuel purchase. This would be normally paid via a PayPoint payment that when collected at the retail unit is transferred to the utility account. Find out more and apply for a fuel grant
Travel Grants
Provision of a one off non repayable amount equivalent to the most economic cost of public transport to and from the resident’s home address for the first four weeks of employment (for example to purchase a bus pass). Find out more and apply for a travel grant
Cash Grants
This will be a one off non repayable grant of between £30 and £60 to support residents following an emergency or crisis. This would be normally received via a PayPoint payment that can be collected at a PayPoint retail unit. Find out more and apply for a cash grant
Free School Meals
Free school meals are available to all pupils in reception, year one and two. If you qualify for certain benefits you can get free school meals for your children all the way through school. Find out more an how to apply for free school meals
https://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/200008/benefits_and_support/8335/discretionary_payments_and_grants
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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.
We want you to be able to switch your heating off at home to help save on your energy bills.
Drinks and snacks will be available free of charge.
So come to keep warm, have a natter and a brew with us.
Any questions or if you’d like to volunteer please email stmargaretscentre1@gmail.com
Donations and bakes are also welcome.
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.
What does an Anti-Poverty community look like in Whalley Range
What does an Anti-Poverty community look like in Whalley Range?
Come along and share your thoughts.
Friday 15th September, 1pm to 2pm
JNR8 Youth & Community Centre, Whalley Range
M16 0BG
Please share far and wide 
Celebrate Festival and WRCF Reports 2023
Click the link or photo below to read this year’s Celebrate Festival report from June 2023…
CELEBRATE FESTIVAL REPORT 2023
Interpretation Board: Covid Commemorative Curve of snowdrops
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 17th January 1045 to 1300 at the Pavilion Café in Alexandra Park.
Tuesday 17th January at 1715 to 1930 at British Muslim Heritage Centre, College Road M16
Thursday 19th January 1045 to 1300 at the Pavilion Café in Alexandra Park.
Booking not essential, just come along on your chosen date.
On Feb 11th 2023 at 11am come and see the curve of snowdrops in flower.
Tea and coffee will be served from the Park Lodge.
Why will local community groups and residents be creating a MASS PLANTING OF SNOWDROPS in Alexandra Park Whalley Range Manchester on March 12th at 10.30am?
We will be gathered together because we want to COMMEMORATE THOSE WHO SUFFERED FROM COVID AND THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES, as well as the hard work of all those who cared for us during the pandemic. Planting snowdrops will CONNECT ALL OUR COMMUNITIES IN A COLLABORATIVE MEMORIAL to CREATE A CONTEMPLATIVE SPACE for us to remember the suffering and pain of loss every year.
Why Snowdrops?
Snowdrops flower in February, the time when the pandemic started in Europe, and once planted they will come back every year at that time as a living reminder. Snowdrops are pure white and tear shaped, symbolising grief, yet their arrival is often seen as the first sign of the returning spring and returning hope. This Curve will beautify the space permanently and expand every year as the snowdrops set seeds and spread under the trees.
We hope you can report this for us and inspire others to plan their own Covid Commemorative Curve of snowdrops!
Celebrate Festival 2023 at JNR8
The Celebrate Programme is here!
Click the link below to download:
Celebrate programme-2023
Celebrate program-draft 5-2 (1)
There is still space left on our Willow Spinner and Singing workshops today (Wednesday 7/6/23)
Also spaces for our Thursday 8/6/23 Willow Spinner workshop and a workshop with Curious Crafty making Ojo De Dios with sticks and yarn…see posters below.
Please call or text to book – see number on posters
Join us for a fantastic performance and some great workshops at JNR8 on the week leading up to the Celebrate Festival…and they are all FREE!
Celebrate Festival 2023 at JNR8
Saturday June 10th 12-6pm
Celebrate will be held at our base at the JNR8 Youth & Community Centre/Manley Park Church on June 10th 12-6pm – with lots going on inside and out!
More details coming soon – watch this space for news of our pre-festival workshops and details of our festival attractions and delights!
Celebrate festival – Getting involved
Hello All 
The Celebrate festival organisers are requesting volunteers to help with this year’s event on June 10th at JNR8 Youth and Community Centre – with the theme ‘Energy’
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
-helping get paid adverts for the programme
– 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 – let me know and I’ll pass your details on to Lotte, the coordinator. 
I would also like to run some pre-festival workshops at JNR8 – perhaps during half term and/or the week leading up to Celebrate. If anyone has any ideas for workshops or is/knows a local workshop facilitator/artists that could work with the theme ‘Energy’ please get in touch for more details.
Many thanks,
Chris
(Whalley Range Community Forum Development Worker)
Coming soon!
Due to changes in our budget Celebrate will now be held at our base, JNR8 Youth and Community Centre and Manley Park church…more details soon!
Please add this date to your diary!
June 10th 2023
Celebrate will be held at our base at the JNR8 Youth & Community Centre/Manley Park Church on June 10th 12-6pm – with lots going on inside and out!
More details coming soon – watch this space for news of our pre-festival workshops and details of our festival attractions and delights!
Annual Reports 2022
Age-friendly Whalley Range & Chorlton Annual Report 2022
Age Friendly Whalley Range and Chorlton Annual Report 2022