ABOUT US
ABOUT US
What is Levenshulme Inspire?
Inspire is a multi-purpose community venue based inside a former church, a thriving and and well-loved centre owned by the people of Levenshulme.
All the activities, classes and events that happen at Inspire aim to benefit local people through community activity, creativity, enterprise and fun. But we also aim to draw people in from further afield to take part in our activities, and to see how fantastic our neighbourhood is.
We’re able to hold such a diverse range of events because of our flexible facilities. Inspire has:
- An onsite café with room for around 50 covers, open from Monday to Friday 9am-2:30pm term time only. The kitchen and cafe can prepare food for on-site and external events.
- Three functions rooms of different sizes available for hire for classes, activities and meetings.
- Affordable office space to hire, plus meeting and consultation rooms for hire.
We’re also a great base for corporate bookings, particularly for organisations committed to improving their social responsibility. If you need a venue for training days, board meetings, recruitment or conferences, choose Inspire and you’ll be helping to invest in our local community. And you can also make use of our brilliant on-site catering facilities while you’re here.
Inspire is conveniently located in Levenshulme, a busy urban suburb just outside of Manchester city centre, with easy access links by train, bus and road.
If you have an idea for an event and would like to discuss it please contact us.
OUR VISION AND VALUES
At Levenshulme Inspire, we aim to be a thriving hub for all members of the community, providing opportunities to unlock potential. In early 2022 the Boards, staff, volunteers and service users came together to review our vision, mission and values and we collectively developed a Theory of Change to express our planned impact.
VISION: “To be a thriving hub for all members of the community; providing opportunities to unlock potential.”
OUR MISSION IS TO:
- Provide a well-resourced and sustainable community facility
- Offer an enriching pathway for Centre users and its workforce
- Develop projects and partnerships
- Be a catalyst for positive change in the whole community
OUR VALUES:
Inspiring – we will be empowering, collaborative and hopeful
Quality – we will aim for excellence and value for money in all we do
Inclusive – we will be accessible to all and considerate of our community and environment
Generous – of our time and spirit to support others, being patient, empowering and kind
Efficient – we will be bold and creative to generate resources to achieve our mission.
Unlocking potential, inspiring community
Did you know?
Every week around 500 people enjoy different activities at Inspire, making around 2000 ‘user sessions’ of activity a month or 48,000 people-hours of learning and fun.
Did you know?
According to the HACT Social Value Bank community activity at Inspire has a financial value it could be worth £925,000.
History
Levenshulme Chapel or Congregational Church is likely to have been founded in the early 1860s.
The earliest documented records relating to the building are a set of accounts for the year 1869-70, and a short note of a Deacon’s Meeting of 1870.
In 1909 the “Cong School” was built and opened in a building adjoined to the church. However, it appears to have struggled during the First World War and subsequently reverted to being a Sunday School.
During the 1930s, life at Levenshulme Congregational Church was very busy with two church services and two Sunday School meetings every Sunday. There were also lots of community activities, including Brownies and Guides, Women’s Guild, Life Boys, Boys Brigade and a Dramatic Society. Some local people still remember the Sunday School’s very popular outings to Prestatyn and Heaton Park: an outing in 1937 involved 162 people.
During the Second World War, people say that the activities of the church were the centre of their lives, and this is reflected in some pages of the Sunday School Roll of Attendance from 1948-49 which shows 72 Sunday School members.
Levenshulme United Reformed Church
In 1972, Levenshulme Congregational Church became Levenshulme United Reformed Church, when the Congregational and Presbyterian churches were joined by an Act of Parliament. However, during the 1970s and 1980s the congregation dwindled further and Sunday School activities also experienced unfortunate setbacks.
Throughout the 1990s, the loyal congregation organised their own preacher and organist each week. But they also remained active in the local community, running activities such as bowling, bring and buy sales, line dancing, a twice-weekly parent and toddler group, and even Egyptian belly-dancing.
But slowly, the building fell into disrepair to the point where, by 2005, most building users had to withdraw.
Modern redevelopment
The redevelopment of the Levenshulme URC building began in March 2009.
This involved demolishing the old Sunday School and replacing it with a modern, glass-fronted building. This now houses the reception and Inspire Café on the ground floor and apartments above. It also involved significant refurbishment of the church building itself, making space for the Inspire Suite, social media suite and community meeting room on the ground floor, the business centre on the first floor and apartments on the floors above.
The entire redevelopment cost nearly £3 million. It was funded from a number of sources: the Homes and Communities Agency, the Big Lottery Fund, Great Places Housing Group, Manchester City Council and the United Reformed Church.
A more detailed history of the church can be downloaded here.
ANNUAL REPORTS
Every year, Inspire produces an Annual Report which includes details of our activities and finances. You can download our most recent annual reports here.
Governance
The Inspire Partnership
Inspire is constituted as Levenshulme Inspire Community Enterprises Community Interest Company (CIC) with its Memorandum and Articles of Association including details of how all profits and assets are ‘locked’ for the benefit of the community. The organisation was registered on 07/03/2008 (Companies House number 06527975).
The CIC sets the strategic direction of the organisation, holds the long lease for the Inspire Centre and has direct responsibility for all management and operational issues, including appointing staff.
The wider Inspire Partnership also operates a co-operative and a charity.
The Inspire Forum is an Industrial Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community, has more than 200 ‘members’ and elects two representatives to sit on the Board of the CIC. This is how building users help to shape the activities of the Inspire Centre.
The Inspire Foundation is a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) with its own set of trustees. The Foundation was registered on 14/09/2015 (Charity Number 1163533). The Foundation was established in order to run project-based activities, particularly with target beneficiary groups. Very often these are grant-funded with separate and ring-fenced funds and staff, and for this reason we want to keep this activity separate from the CIC and IPS activities.
INSPIRE CHURCH
The inspiration behind Inspire came from a small group of church members who had the vision to look beyond their own frailty and their dilapidated building to see the potential for the vibrant community hub that Inspire has become. In sharing their asset with the community and having faith in working in partnership with others they have realised their dreams.
More than that, where once the congregation had dwindled to just 7 people, it is now thriving with Sunday services bringing together over 50 people of every age and background.
All of the activities at the Inspire Centre are open to people of all faiths and no visitors are ever indoctrinated or coerced into Christian faith. Furthermore, church finances are kept completely separately from those of the centre and the church receives no income from centre revenues or grants. Church members do though play an active role in all aspects of centre life: from running the toddler group to volunteering in the café. It is through its care-in-action that the church expresses its faith at Inspire.
More information about Inspire Church can be found on www.inspirechurch.co.uk.
