A COMMUNTY shop which has brought together several groups has opened its doors.

The shop, at 25 Market Street, part of Turnpike Buildings, has been set up by Cadence CIC and will be managed by the Leigh Building Preservation Trust

It will be shared by the trust and other groups including Old Leigh Photos Heritage Group, Leigh Hackspace and Leigh band the Lottery Winners.

The trust is working on a project to regenerate the part of the Leigh Spinners Mill on Manchester Road not used by Leigh Spinners Ltd, which has been based at the mill since it was built in the 1910s.

Trevor Barton MBE, the chairman of the trust, said: “It is great to see the various groups like the Hackspace and the Spinners project to all share this space.

“It gives people the opportunity to spend a lot more time to come in and share their thoughts on the direction the mill project is travelling in.

“The fact that one tenth of the population of Leigh is a member of the Old Leigh Photographs page shows how proud they are of Leigh.

“We honour the past to inspire the future generations to make the best of what we have got.”

The shop provides a location for updates on the Leigh Spinners project including displaying the plans for the mill’s future uses and will display many of the old photos of Leigh.

It will be open on most days but will be available for use outside by other organisations if booked in advance through Leigh BPT or Old Leigh Photos.

Peter Rowlinson, secretary of the trust, said: “Our shop is being provided with help from Centric Properties our landlord, Cadence CIC, as partners, Leigh Spinners Ltd who have provided our new carpet tiles, and the welcome practical support of the Leigh Hackspace Group.

“We are also grateful for our continuing relationship with the Old Leigh Photographs Group which has now passed 7,100 members.

“Given that Leigh has a population of some 50,000 it demonstrates how important our heritage is to many people and this needs to be recognised as a priority for our town.”