Global Grooves appoint preferred bidder for transformation project

The complex has also been designated as the new Northern Carnival Centre Of Excellence by Arts Council England

Carnival arts organisation, Global Grooves, has appointed a preferred bidder for its project to transform its home, Vale Mill, at the top of Micklehurst Road in Mossley, to a brand new, state-of-the-art, multi-purpose community cultural hub.

The complex has also been designated as the new Northern Carnival Centre Of Excellence by Arts Council England.

After a tender process delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Global Grooves hopes to have a contract with Skyline Property Solutions in place by the end of 2020 so that works can begin in early 2021.

It is estimated that phase one of the project will take eight to nine months to complete, with the new venue open to the public by the end of 2021.

Global Grooves CEO and Mossley resident, Leon Patel, said: "It’s taken time to get to this point: many years fundraising and case-making, and then, of course, nobody could have foreseen this year’s pandemic and subsequent lockdown.

"But Global Grooves is resilient, and our community needs a place like this more than ever!

"We’re looking forward to opening our doors to our neighbours as soon as we can, but there’s still lots more work to be done and we need to raise more money to complete the project to realise our ambitious vision."

Skyline Property Solutions, based in Liverpool, are no strangers to the arts and culture sector, having built Walk The Plank’s RIBA award-winning home in Salford, which was also designed by the same architects as Vale Mill, Architectural Emporium.

The tender process to appoint an electrical and mechanical contractor to the Vale Mill project is ongoing.

To date, supporters of the project include Arts Council England, The Foyle Foundation, Heritage Lottery Fund and Sports England.

A full update for the project is expected in December, 2020.

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