On Saturday 7th January 2012, Community Reporter attended an Open Day at the Mary Magdalene Church Hall, Winton.
Now re-named The Magdalene Centre, the re-opening was a chance to celebrate, not only with dignitaries, such as Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester – Mr Warren Smith JP; the Lord Bishop of Manchester – Rt. Rev’d Nigel McCulloch; The Mayor & Mayoress of the City of Salford – Councillor Eric and Mrs Burgoyne; Deputy Leader of the Council – Mr David Lancaster and MP for Worsley & Eccles South – Ms Barbara Keeley, but the whole community of Winton by holding a Family Fun Day with hot food & drinks, children’s entertainment and Karate display, amongst others.
The vision was to turn the now Magdalene Centre into a “Community Hub” where the people of Winton can come and celebrate together and use the facilities for different aspects of the community needs.
Father Ian Hall, Priest-in-Charge since 2009, said that “this has gone way beyond our expectation. We knew that there was a need for such a facility but that it was renovated so well by a group of lads who took such pride in their work, is reflected in the comments by people saying how wonderful it all looks.”
When asked about the turnout, he went on to say that “we never expected the people to turn out in this number and the fact that they have proves, there is a need and people want a building like this in their area, a fantastic start.”
The future looks bright for the Magdalene Centre as the work does not stop here! The plan is to hopefully access funds to refurbish the kitchen and toilet areas and new windows to be installed.
A café on a mezzanine floor, redevelopment of a back room to provide a meeting room / office space and possibly the introduction of ICT facilities to provide the local community the chance to enhance their skills, are all future ideas to make The Magdalene Centre the complete Community Hub. We wish them well.