In an alleyway at the back of the Gateway Community Church, off Bright Road in Eccles, lots of young people are painting benches, tables, plant pots and tyres. Even the fences have turned bright blue. It's all part of a scheme to turn up the vibrancy volume of the entry and turn it into a space where the community can meet and mingle.
"A lot of people felt unsafe in the alleyways and that crime was a big issue" explains Codie Wood, one of a team of fifteen young people from the National Citizen Service who are doing the makeover as the Alley Hope Project in conjunction with the Gateway Church.
"It's basically an effort to renovate all the alleyways in Eccles, starting with this one, so we're going to paint all the walls and benches, put plants in, make people feel safe and create a community hub where everyone can mix" she adds "If the Council sees this as being successful, hopefully it will get involved in making other alleyways in Eccles similar. We've already got City West Housing Trust bringing some solar lights to set up on the walls so at night it will be bright."
The young people raised funds themselves to buy materials for the renovation and have volunteered around two weeks of their summer holidays to work on the scheme.
"The Church spoke to all the people in houses around here to check they wanted this and everyone was enthusiastic" Codie says "The idea is that the community can get involved if they want or the Council can send people to do it. We want to change the vision of alleyways in Eccles."
They are hoping to complete the alleyway by September 6th with a communal tea party to celebrate...
* Main photo shows Codie Wood
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