The Concourse and the community…

As a fellow resident of Skelmersdale, I know only too well the thoughts surrounding the Concourse Shopping Centre as the central point of our town.

However, in true About the Town style, we want to take this opportunity to spin things around a little and share with you some behind the scenes stuff that isn’t always so appreciated.

After meeting Dianne Fletcher, Assistant Manager of the Concourse, at one of our monthly networking events, we soon began to learn much more about the fantastic things the Concourse does for our community!

For example, do you know about the Community Kiosk located in the market? This space allows local charities, CIC organisations and not for profits the chance to host events, fundraisers, and other community benefiting work at no cost. For example, local CIC Made In WN8 began here, using the space to host their monthly Artisan Market, before growing much larger and moving out into the ground floor space.

The Concourse also allowed About the Town and Birchwood to use The Concourse Kitchen to host their recent community event, demonstrating their support for local community initiatives.

After several chats with Dianne over the weeks leading up to the launch of this edition, it was clear to see her passion for making the Concourse a great place for people to visit. She spoke fondly of some regular visitors who know the staff, business owners, security and cleaners well. She told heartwarming stories about how the Concourse is used for more than just shopping, but as a place where people feel safe and part of something.

Dianne works closely with Gary, the centre manager, and they have both been at the Concourse for over 11 years! Locals themselves, are keen to show the community here in Skelmersdale that they are friendly and approachable, and the entire team at About the Town can vouch for this! It’s incredibly refreshing to gain a new perspective on the Concourse and its management team!

One last point…have you ever noticed how clean the Concourse is?? Next time you’re there, just have a look around! The team work incredibly hard to keep this up!

If you are part of a community group or charity and are interested in utilising the Community Kiosk, email Dianne at dfletcher@lcpproperties.co.uk or give her a call on 01695 723785.