Wigan cultural venture targeting needy children wins the jackpot - and praise from Sir Ian McKellen

And among the first to congratulate Pianos, Pies and Pirouettes was none other than the town’s most famous thespian son, Sir Ian McKellen.

The awarding by the Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation (GMCVO) of a £137,000 loan over the next two years to the community business means that it can go ahead with plans to create a dance school for diverse groups at Sunshine House in Scholes.

Co-founder of PPP, Alan Gregory, said that this was a very significant day not just for his organisation, but also other local bodies which should now be encouraged to go down the same funding route because it gives them independence and not needing to go “cap in hand” for funding from sources such as the cash-strapped council’s Deal purse.

He said: “We are ecstatic! After a 12-month application process, seeing us being scrutinized by a fearsome panel of financial experts; endlessly writing and re-writing business plans, cash-flows and trajectories of every type and content; we have finally officially been granted £130,000 worth of investment over the next two years from GMCVO.

“This enables Donna (co-director Donna Harrison) and me not only to fulfill a six-year vision that we've had since I approached Lynn Hankey and the Deal team at the council with a mad idea about rugby players and ballet, but also to start our new venture, in partnership with Sunshine House, to completely change the cultural landscape of some of the most deprived areas of the town, starting with Scholes.

"Much more than that, it proves once and for all that a small CIC like ours can be recognized as a real commercial social business, by a panel of non-third sector experts and thus raise money on the open commercial market, instead of just solely waiting for investment from the usual funders in what is becoming an increasingly tight and difficult-to-access source.

"I have to say we could not have done it without the initial faith Wigan Council showed in us, but especially we could not have done it without the help and guidance of David Baxter from Wigan and Leigh Community Charity.

"I hope people will see this, as not only an achievement for us, but for Wigan Council and the Deal and also recognise this as a pathway which other smaller CICs in the borough may wish to follow. We'd be more than happy to help them on that journey, if they think it is for them.”

Among the first to offer their congratulations was Sir Ian, whose first cultural experiences as a boy came while being brought up in Wigan.

He wrote: “Dear Alan Gregory, I’m so pleased that the immediate financial situation is secure and send my best wishes for a peaceful 2024.”

Mr Gregory said that the money will allow him to give up some of his other work to concentrate on PPP projects.

What is called Annexe 1 (the former St Pat’s social club) at Sunshine House will be home to the dance classes, starting in February and charging £1.50 a lesson.

Mr Gregory it all started with a rugby ballet and next in the pipeline is a boxing one!

PPP has also secured more funding from the Government's Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) scheme for another arts project aimed mainly at youngsters on free school meals.

It runs from January 2 to 5 and this year is based around rap music. Over the first three days children will be at five sites: Bickershaw Village Community Centre, Sunshine House, Clifton Street Community Centre in Worsley Mesnes and Shakerley Community Centre in Tyldesley.

They will take part in fun workshops writing their own raps and designing their own outfits, then on the final day they come together at Wigan town hall’s atrium for a “rap clash battle” to find out which area is the best.

Letters have gone out to schools and half the places are already booked. Mr Gregory said that youngsters who don’t get free school meals can also take part for a small fee.