Wrigley Mill: Community Action Group, was formed in November 2011 with the aim of doing as much as possible to retain Wrigley Mill for use as a community resource for Diggle village and its residents.

The Group is affiliated to Diggle Community Association and operates as a sub committee under the DCA constitution.

Everyone is welcome to join the Group.

Village SOS

For inspiration listen to this short presentation by Sarah Beeny from the BBC’s Village SOS programme  Click here

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 Contact Wrigley Mill: Community Action Group

Ray Withnall 01457 820725

Blog

7 February 2012

A milestone day today!  Pat arranged for a small group of us to go to Slaithwaite and visit the Hand Made Bakery and the Green Valley Grocer .  We came back with a ‘can do’ attitude and plans are already being drawn of the vision we have for similar ideas in Diggle.

The Vision Table was distributed to all active and passive supporters today, and we have invited responses to discuss at next week’s WM:CAG meeting at the Band Club starting at 8pm.  There is an open invitation and a big welcome to all Diggle residents, please support us.  If you want a copy of the vision, please request through the contacts page.

The ‘not so good’ news is that it is unlikely that the provisions and legislation of the Localism Act 2011 will not be available to us until October 2012.  That is nearly twelve months after the Act became law!  This means that registering our interest with Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council to ensure we can have the time to put our bid together, depends on when the building comes up for sale.  There is no indication from the Methodist Circuit when they will erect the ‘for sale’ sign, but if it is before October we will have an interesting legal discussion about registering our interest under a current Act of Parliament where a legal process of registration is unavailable.  We will know more about this after the meeting on Community Rights Made Real: Getting to grips with the Localism Act next month.

4 February 2012

The coffee morning was considered a success.  More people joined the DCA and showed support for the Wrigley Mill acquisition.

The WM:CAG is not a separate organisation, it is part of the DCA and in his speech Ray Withnall (Vice Chair DCA) emphasised how important it is for the DCA to be seen as the driving force of the project.  It is a very large project responsible to and under the management of the DCA.  Anyone wishing to join the WM:CAG will be encouraged to join the DCA as well, but it is not compulsory to do so.

There were 30 ‘visions’ of a future Wrigley Mill proposed.  These were divided into different categories:

• Fitness
• Youth
• Social and Leisure activities
• Community Service
• Commercial for the benefit of the Community

Many of the visions are not unique to Wrigley Mill, and could be developed at Kiln Green and Diggle Band Club.  The WM:CAG is keen to develop unique visions without competing with the valuable contribution provided by Kiln Green and the Band Club.  We want to work together for the benefit of everyone in the village.

The vision of a Community shop is one idea that is capturing the imagination of the group.  Another vision is a Youth Cafe and developing facilities that will help and support the older members of the community.

We are looking for more supporters from the village to help us prepare for the tasks ahead.  If you have experience in legal, finance and planning applications, we need you.  Please contact Ray on the number above.

30 December 2011

The Group is holding a coffee morning at Diggle Band Club on Saturday 21 January between 11am and 1pm.  There will be a small exhibition demonstrating community resources available in Diggle, the importance of Wrigley Mill holds in the village, the groups who already use Wrigley Mill’s facilities and a vision of what might be achieved by retaining the building for community use.  The Group want input from Diggle’s community to prepare plans for funding and acquisition.

There will be opportunity to give your support and input to this ambitious venture, especially if you have previous experience of similar undertakings or have expertise in finance, legal, design and planning professions.

1 December 2011

It is very early days, but support for WM: CAG is growing.  Support has been received from several groups that already use Wrigley Mill for their activity; First Steps Dancing School, Cub Scouts, Diggle Ducklings, Slimming World, Diggle Community Association and Zumba.

Other groups include Air Cadets, Diggle Band Contest, Diggle School and PTA and the local Police.

There will be more support from other groups and Diggle residents as the Group committee prepare their plans for the new year.