Team Ward's big Primrose Bank campaign day

Primrose Bank Community Centre volunteers

Oldham teenagers are set to take to the Market Place to do the Primrose Bank Community Centre justice today (Thursday).

Team Ward, a group of 16 and 17-year-olds currently undertaking their National Citizen Service, will hold a campaign day today in Oldham town centre.

The day - involving arts and crafts, face and nail painting, biscuit decorating and refreshments - aims to raise awareness of Primrose Bank Community Centre.

Primrose opened in 2015 as part of the £113 million Gateways to Oldham regeneration project.

The scheme, which also involved building 121 new houses and the refurbishment of 45 existing homes, aimed to transform the local area and create a community hub for residents.

The centre offers a range of activities for young people from arts and crafts to learning Maths and English, as well as supporting those with disabilities and the elderly.

In July, the mayor and youth mayor were in attendance as Oldham Athletic's Community Trust opened their new, free youth club in the building.

As a provider of services so integral to the community, Team Ward feel that more people should take advantage of the Primrose Bank Centre: "The centre receives little attention from its local area and that means people miss out on the many opportunities within Primrose.

"We want to help the centre with its advertising, to get its name out to more people."

It certainly is not short of ways to get involved; this August alone the hub will be offering money management courses, healthy cooking sessions, family walks and bee hotel-making to name but a few.

The National Citizen Service is a voluntary personal and social development programme for 15 to 17-year-olds.

The partly government-funded initiative involves a residential week of team building activities, as well as social action projects such as today's which aim to benefit the local community.

Omar Farooq, team director, said: “NCS has been a life changing experience for me and my team, allowing us to make a change to the community.”

Be sure to head down to Market Street to get involved in this worthwhile campaign!

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