The historic Manchester Road Chapel, once a place of worship, is being meticulously renovated into a dynamic co-working space.

With the final touches being applied, the grand opening is slated for the end of this month, promising a unique blend of history and modernity for the bustling community.

The building – Ministry of Work – hopes to create a ‘city centre vibe’ workspace. It aims to be an affordable place to work for business start-ups, freelancers and the local community.

Eddie Whittingham, Ministry of work’s founder, pictured outside the building. Credit: Emily Trelfa

 

Local dad-of-two, Eddie Whittingham, bought the former Methodist Chapel late last year and has been renovating it into a premium co-working space ever since. 

Eddie states: “To see the chapel restored to its former glory is amazing and I am so proud to see the office space take shape. It’s going to be the ideal location for any small local businesses that are mainly desk based.

“So far we’ve had bookings and interest from designers, PRs, entrepreneurs, HR consultants; a really wide range of local professionals and I am excited to meet everyone and see this community develop.”

Working with his architect they drew up comprehensive plans to create a charming, modern space with essential technology, air conditioning, meeting rooms, private phone booths, outdoor seating, 1GB internet, free tea and coffee, and much more.

The building’s modernisation also includes 48 solar panels and it has achieved an ‘A’ rated EPC rating.

Architect’s impression of the upstairs cosy space. Credit: Ministry of Work and Eddie Whittingham.

A hard hat tour of the 5,000 ft space revealed beautiful stained glass windows and other original features including original trusses…there’s even a time capsule that had been buried under the floor in 2000. The interior style is stylish-yet-comfortable with leather, woodwork and ironwork – and Eddie has kept the majority of original features. 

Eddie added: “We have designed this space very carefully and included little details often missing in similar spaces like a snug where co-working people can have a little privacy and our dedicated podcast and content studio, where brands can create amazing content.”  

The ground floor incorporates a number of private offices for four-eight people plus a reception, a podcast studio and kitchen. Upstairs are 36 individual coworking desks plus break out areas and plenty of bookable meeting rooms and additional kitchen facilities. 

The space is also dog friendly and is expected to book up incredibly quickly ahead of its mid-late November opening. 

For more information on opening times click here.

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