Charity lights Fuse to spark overspill estate's regeneration

Group steps in at forgotten centre, writes Damon Wilkinson

- 

IT'S a town of almost 8,000 people. But there's no train station, it's a 35-minute bus ride to the nearest theatre or cinema and even the pubs have closed down.

The Trafford suburb of Partington, a one-time overspill estate on the far western edge of Greater Manchester, has long suffered from a lack of facilities many other places take for granted.

But a charity on the outskirts of town is trying to change that by overseeing the rebirth of a building once dubbed 'Britain's biggest youth club! Built using a £5m government grant, when it first opened in 2011 the Fuse centre was a huge deal for Partington.

The state-of-the-art building came with a 250 capacity theatre, dance and recording studios, sports hall, cafe and computer suite. But the Fuse's first incarnation was short-lived. After just 18 months funding problems meant the youth club closed down.

Into the gap stepped Debra Green OBE, director and founder of Redeeming Our Communities, a charity that works with grassroots groups to improve local communities. She was offered the building rent-free on a 22-year lease on the understanding ROC would provide some of the facilities and activities Partington badly needed.