2011 Annual General Meeting of the ELMC - 19 September 2011

Freemasons' Hall, Manchester

The Chairman of the Board of the East Lancashire Masonic Charity, WBro Paul MA Rose, PAPGM welcomed the brethren to the Annual General Meeting. Prior to the formal business of the evening he introduced two presentations, one from Stephen Cliffe of Vision Developments, on the development of Bridge Street - a subject integral to the future welfare of the Charity and indeed Freemasonry in Manchester:

 

Stephen Cliffe, explained that the ELMC and Province had signed contracts with Ford Campbell Property Investments (FCPI) in December 2010. As Experts, Vision Developments are working with FCPI to co-ordinate the process due to the complexities associated with planning and the difficulties that may arise relating to the refurbishment.

Much work has been done and a planning application for the Hall will be submitted in October 2011. Bi-weekly development meetings have been held and the Planning Department consulted at each stage to help smooth and negotiate any contentious areas. The Building is listed and this gives limits to proposed structural changes.

The plan is to refurbish the Hall for a business and Conference Centre on the lower floors which will benefit from exceptional space, natural light and appropriate ambiance and heritage on all floors. A leading conference centre operator has been identified who submitted their proposal in July 2011. There is currently limited conference facility availability in Manchester and all are excited about this opportunity.

The second floor will be refurbished for serviced offices and the third floor will be for Freemasonry. The conference and office functions will take place during the day with the Hall mainly providing a Masonic service in the evenings.

It is envisaged that the venue will be so vibrant that the surrounding assortment of venues and hotels will look very tired in comparision and the new look Hall will surpass many peoples expectations.

Masonic activity will be relocated to the third floor which will be fully refurbished to a very high standard with a new lift servicing the 3rd floor from the ground floor. The entrance for Freemasons will remain through the front doors where the impressive entrance and reception centre will be situated, surrounded by peripheral bars and cafeterias etc. The third floor will contain a number of Lodge and Chapter rooms, changing facilities, Provincial Offices and so on. A further Lodge room on the third floor will be created above the central atrium. Dining for the Freemasons will be offered within the other floors of the building and a most impressive dining facility will be in the completely redesigned basement with a central bar area hub leading to the many dining rooms. Catering will be provided by the Conference Operator who will provide a top class service but with pre-agreed resstrictions on charges and fees.

The Conference Operator will invest up to £1.5M on technology, high standards of fit-out, tables, seating, soft furnishings and dining facilities. The quality available to us will be splendid. The images below give an idea of the standard of accommodation to be provided:

The tentative programme for completion of the works is that planning will be determined by Nov 11 to Jan 12, tenders prepared by Jan 12 and site works commencing Apr 12 and completed during Oct 12. The completion of Stephen Cliffe's presentation was met with applause and then a question and answer session ensued to the satisfaction of everyone present.

The second presentation was given by Jan O'Connor, of Wood Street Mission, which explained how our local community continues to benefit from the ELMC Community Fund and the support and involvement of Freemason's locally:

Jan (left) explained how our neighbours at Bridge Street, Wood Street Mission, offered practical help to local children and their families, living in Manchester and Salford. The Charity was founded in 1869 by a local businessman, Alfred Alsop. in the early years Wood Street Mission clothed and fed hungry children, gave free room and board to homeless men and boys and provided food and toys to local children at Christmas. From the 1890s to 1950s the Charity ran a holiday camp at Blackpool and gave thousands of inner city children their first, and in many cases only, summer holiday. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s Wood Street ran a youth club and sports facilities and today they concentrate their efforts on providing free, practical help, to disadvantaged children and families. Their mission is to offer support with everyday items to help alleviate the effects of poverty. The Vision is that all children in Manchester and Salford should live a life free from poverty.

There are only 7 staff and in 2010 over 14,000 children and parents were referred to Wood Street for help. Some are fleeing domestic violence, some are refugees, some have a disability and many just need help. Nearly 80% of the those in need were born here.

The Charity runs 5 projects each year - for Clothing, Easter, Christmas, School Uniforms and Children's Book Clubs. last year 806 children were helped with school uniforms.

In 2010 the ELMC gave £2000 to help with the School Uniform Project and Freemasons locally regulary provide financial support to help the Charity. A big help is the free parking provided for the Charity's vehicle in the Bridge Street Car Park.

Local Freemasons will of course continue to provide help and all can help by donating used or new children's clothing to the Charity.

Paul Rose thanked both presenters for their work tonight and the input given to the introduction of the ELMC's AGM.

 

 

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