Pakistani Community Centre – invitation to submit proposals

Manchester City Council is prepared to receive proposals from community organisations based in Longsight, Manchester on the future running of the community centre at 481 Stockport Road in Longsight, currently known as “The Pakistani Community Centre”.

The successful organisation will be invited to enter into a full repair and insure lease with Manchester City Council in respect of the above property. The specific terms of the lease will be dependent upon the nature of the successful bid and will be negotiated with the successful applicant on completion of this process.

Please note that organisations may be invited to work together to deliver services from the premises.

Organisations wishing to submit a proposal will be required to detail their plans for the centre by answering the questions in this form. In addition to completing this form, applicants that have not already done so should complete the attached VCS lettings questionnaire.

Each organisation’s response should be detailed enough to allow the Council to evaluate whether the bid represents good value for money and meets the criteria set out in this document.

Who can apply?

To be eligible your organisation must:
1. Have a constitution
2. Be based in Manchester, preferably with a track-record of working in the Longsight area.
3. Have a board of trustees / management committee comprising people that live and work in the Longsight area.
4. Be a not-for-profit third sector organisation – this includes voluntary and community organisations, co-operatives and mutual societies, non-governmental organisations which are value driven and which principally invest their surpluses to further social, environmental or cultural objectives.

How your proposal will be assessed

Your proposal should demonstrate:
• That your proposals are focused on needs of the community. You should demonstrate that there is a gap in existing services and/or proven demand for existing services / activities.
• Support from the local community for your proposals. You must demonstrate that your proposals are supported by local people - this could be through a petition, responses to a questionnaire exercise you have completed locally, a needs assessment you have carried out etc.
• Your organisation’s history and experience of developing and delivering a range of services to a diverse community
• Your organisation’s track record of managing a property (or what support you are accessing from a local infrastructure support provider such as Macc).
• How your proposed activities fit against the priorities identified in the Longsight ward plan.

These are:
1. Improving Neighbourhoods through Resident Empowerment and Community Capacity
2. Linking Residents to Support and Opportunities
3. Capitalising on the District Centre
4. Reducing Crime and Improving Safety
5. Improving the Local Environment
6. Improving the Health of Residents

Applicants may be asked to provide a short presentation of their proposals to council officers. You will be given advance warning of this following the closing of the deadline for applications.

Timetable

The deadline for submitting your proposal is the 11July 2014. Completed proposals should be emailed to: [email protected]. Following this a panel of senior officers from the council will score each application and liaise with local elected members to select the organisation that will provide the best selection of services to the local community.

You will be notified of the outcome of your proposal in early August 2014.

Manchester City Council will make every effort to find unsuccessful applicants alternative premises to deliver from.

If you have any queries regarding this document or process, contact Steve Higgins on 0161 234 3199 or Martin Nolan on 0161 234 4000.

Please note however Manchester City Council cannot offer advice on how to write your proposal or the strength of your proposal. If you need support to complete your proposal, contact Manchester Community Central on 0333 321 3021.