Local people formed a community association in the 1970s, responding to a need for them to meet and enjoy leisure and educational facilities together. Their initial difficulty was finding premises on which to meet, and so they campaigned for a purpose-built centre, which was finally opened in 1987.

Further consultation revealed a need for affordable childcare for under 5s, a desire for older people to have a meeting of their own, and for women to have a group at which they could try out new ideas and have some time solely for themselves.  Training in childcare psychology and IT were also identified as being valuable;  crèche facilities were also developed.  All these activities served to improve social wellbeing by reducing isolation and offering opportunities to pursue common interests and to learn new things. 

Part of the Ladybarn Care Project involves the provision of an outreach service to meet the needs of our elderly service users e.g. home visits, assistance with transport, escort to appointments and more commonly gardening. Many if not all of our staff are local people as are our volunteers. The association seek to involve local people in the planning process for all our project delivery and always welcomes interest from local residents to join our Management Committee.

Many of the services have been delivered in partnership with other local groups, thus improving efficiency and communication locally.  The Association has worked particularly closely with Sure Start, Manchester Children, Families and Social Care and the Adult Social Care department. The range of activities delivered is still wide and the group will continue to canvass service users with regard to expanding the provision to meet their needs. 

The priority is to continue delivering high quality services within the current sphere of interest, with further expansion only secondary to that once funding is secured and capacity maximised.