Free photography, film, poetry and singing workshops from January 2027 take Bury's South Asian communities to Holcombe Moor, plus five paid jobs for 18 to 25s.
Residents of Pimhole, Fishpool and the surrounding area are being offered 30 weeks of free creative workshops from January 2027, built around getting out of town and up on to Holcombe Moor.
The project is run by Breaking Barriers, a Rochdale production company set up as a Community Interest Company, in partnership with the National Trust, which looks after the moor. It is aimed at Bury’s South Asian communities and has been paid for with a National Lottery Project Grant through Arts Council England.
Participants will learn photography, filmmaking, poetry, singing and sound design, and record their own journey from home and neighbourhood out to the open moor and the River Irwell. What they make together will be shared on Holcombe Moor in summer 2027.
Five paid jobs for 18 to 25 year olds
The grant also pays for five roles for young people from the area aged 18 to 25 who want to work in the creative industries:
- Assistant Director
- Assistant Producer
- Assistant Sound Designer
- Assistant Filmmaker
- Assistant Photographer
Breaking Barriers says recruitment has already started and the people chosen will begin work in early November 2026.
“Right on people’s doorsteps”
Parvez Qadir, the company’s Artistic Director, said the moor was close to home for many people in Bury but hard to reach in practice.
“We’re thrilled to be working with so many key partners on this project in Bury,” he said. “Holcombe Moor is right on people’s doorsteps, but many in our communities face real barriers to reaching it. This project gives people the support to make that journey, to tell their own stories creatively and to experience nature in a way they may never have had the chance to before.”
The company has done this before on the hills above Rochdale. “We’ve worked on the moors before,” he said. “With Elevation, we created an immersive sound walk on Blackstone Edge with local communities in Rochdale, weaving their stories, poetry and voices into the landscape. We saw how powerful it can be when people hear their own stories out on the land, and we’re excited to bring a similar approach to Bury.”
Jodie Ratcliffe, the Executive Producer, grew up in Bury. “Having grown up in Bury, I know that chances to get involved in arts and culture are few and far between, especially for young people,” she said. “It’s really special for me to bring this project home, and I can’t wait to see people connect, share their stories and get creative in the nature that’s been on our doorstep all along.”
What the National Trust says
Nik Taylor, the National Trust’s Area Ranger for Holcombe Moor, said: “The entire team is very excited to partner with Breaking Barriers in this fantastic project ending unequal access and linking local communities to their surrounding nature, beauty and heritage. We are really looking forward to hosting visiting groups to the moor and sharing our passion for nature restoration.”
The trust says the project supports its strategy to 2035, People and Nature Thriving, and its aim of ending unequal access to nature, beauty and history.
Holcombe Moor is registered common land, with its own Commoners Association. According to the trust, the moorland sits beside the three small farm holdings of the Stubbins Estate, given to the trust in 1943 by the mill owner Colonel A T Porritt in memory of his son, who died in the war. In March 1994 the Secretary of State for Defence authorised the transfer of 1,017 acres at Holcombe Moor to the trust, and in 2016 the moor was included in the West Pennine Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest for its blanket bog, upland heath and breeding moorland birds.
Getting people there
The organisers say the aim is to remove the practical reasons people stay away. Transport for Greater Manchester is helping groups travel to the moor, United Utilities has provided waterproof outdoor kit, and National Trust rangers and volunteers will meet participants.
The Met in Bury, Public Health Bury, the Wheels and Walks Fund, the GMCA Spirit Fund and The Granada Foundation are also backing the project.
A four-year plan to Manchester
This first year is the start of something bigger. Breaking Barriers wants to follow the River Irwell from Bury to Manchester city centre over four years, building towards a large live performance on Holcombe Moor and, in the end, a major public production in Manchester city centre.
What it means for you
- Who can take part: residents of Pimhole, Fishpool and the surrounding area. The workshops are free.
- When: the workshops start in January 2027 and run for 30 weeks. Exact dates and venues have not been published yet.
- Community groups that want to bring members along can email breakingbarriersprojects@gmail.com.
- More from Breaking Barriers: breakingbarriersrochdale.co.uk.
For other ways to get out and about locally, see our things to do in Bury page.
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