As the autumn sun spills through Levenshulme Old Library's lofty windows, an empty room is set aside to provide a comfort that is in short supply - warmth.
Advertised as the 'Keep Warm Club', the room is unassuming but somehow soothing, with wooden tables and plastic chairs laid out alongside a flask of hot water and a tray of teabags and biscuits. Visitors here have no obligation, and are invited to help themselves to a hot drink, WiFi, and a warm place to sit, without having to speak to another soul.
The 'warm bank' is a scheme launched by the community arts centre just last week, as neighbourhood spaces try to think about how to best share their existing resources with the people around them, building manager Richard Hirst told the Manchester Evening News: "We have the heating on anyway when someone is in the building, so it made sense to invite people in here to use it."
