Our Work
Explore our current projects, events, and partnerships aimed at strengthening community ties across Burnley’s diverse faiths and cultures.
Building Bridges in Burnley secures funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to celebrate their 25 year history and bring Canalside’s heritage and community to life
Building Bridges in Burnley is delighted to announce that it has been successfully awarded £185,454 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, to be delivered over the next three years, supporting a new heritage project focused on the 25 history of their organisation and the heritage of the Grade II Listed Canalside building and the communities that have lived, worked and worshipped around it.
This investment represents a major milestone for the organisation, which was proudly awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2024, recognising its outstanding contribution to community cohesion and interfaith work across Burnley and East Lancashire. The project follows the recent acquisition of the Canalside Community Centre on Lindsay Street, secured through a Community Asset Transfer. This funding forms a central part of Building Bridges’ ambition to bring the centre back to life, transforming it into a vibrant community and faith hub welcoming people from all backgrounds, cultures and faiths.
The Roots and Horizons Heritage Project, predominantly funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, is a 3 year exploration and celebration of both Building Bridges in Burnley’s 25 year history and the heritage of Canalside, a Grade II Listed building which was built for the Ancient Order of Foresters in the 1800s, became Burnley’s Labour Exchange in 1910 and then the British Legion Club and Canalside Community Centre later in the 20th Century. The heritage project will explore the impactful history of Building Bridges and the rich social history of Canalside, capturing stories of local residents, workers, families and communities through research, archiving, oral histories, learning activities, exhibitions and creative community projects.
Engagement with the local community is at the heart of this project and the activity will reach many of the diverse communities in Burnley through partnerships with local schools and community groups. Through creative projects, a touring pop up exhibition, a mural at Canalside and a digital screen which will display archive material, Roots and Horizons will ensure this shared community heritage will be preserved and celebrated for future generations.
Chair of Trustees Afrasiab Anwar says:
“This is an exciting new chapter for Building Bridges in Burnley and for the town as a whole. The project offers a unique opportunity to engage across communities, strengthen understanding and promote cohesion by connecting people through our shared local heritage. We are so grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for their generous support and we can’t wait to get the project started”
As part of the funding, there are two exciting opportunities to join the Building Bridges’ team as the project’s Programme Manager or Heritage Curator. More information about these roles can be found on our Home Page at www.buildingbridgesburnley.com
Interfaith Cricket Match
Now an annual tradition, our Interfaith Cricket Match brings together members of the Diocese of Blackburn and the Lancashire Council of Mosques for a day of sport, connection, and community spirit. In June 2025, the match was once again held at Padiham Cricket Club, supported by Mayor of Padiham, Alun Lewis, and watched by a fantastic local crowd.
This friendly yet competitive fixture is more than a game — it’s a symbol of unity, breaking down barriers and building friendships between people of different faiths through a shared love of sport. After a close match, the LCM team secured the win in the final over.
The event continues to gain national attention. Last year, the match was featured on BBC Two’s Fabulous Feasts, with TV chef Andi Oliver preparing a special cricket tea for players and guests. You can watch that episode now on BBC iPlayer.
The 2025 reverse fixture is scheduled for 6th August, and we’re looking forward to another memorable day of connection and celebration.
Refugee Week
In Burnley, we celebrated Refugee Week with the theme "Community as a Superpower"
As part of the Burnley City of Sanctuary steering group, we had the honour of co-judging some beautiful artwork and writing by students from Wellfield Primary School and St John the Baptist Primary School. Every student went above and beyond in creating their pieces — it was incredibly difficult to choose the winners.
Following this, New Neighbours Together hosted a community lunch on Tuesday 17th June, with several local organisations in attendance. NNT gave a powerful presentation, and the students’ work was proudly displayed around the hall, alongside a commissioned piece of art by local artist Rizwan Iqbal — Faces of Burnley — supported by Burnley Council.
Throughout the afternoon, we had the invaluable opportunity to speak with people who have lived experience as refugees. Volunteers, members, and staff from NNT prepared and served food from around the world — Kurdish, Pakistani, English, Ethiopian, Iranian — all absolutely delicious. The afternoon ended with dancing and traditional music from many cultures and countries. I even had the joy of learning a traditional Kurdish dance!
A huge thank you to all the staff, volunteers, and community members at NNT for welcoming us so warmly and reminding us that in Burnley, community truly is our superpower.
Burnley Youth Theatre Project
Burnley Youth Theatre, in partnership with Building Bridges Burnley, are delivering a school diversity and community cohesion project, engaging a small group of pupils from each of the following schools; Blessed Trinity, Sir John Thursby and Burnley High. The pupils are working with a professional drama practitioner and member of Building Bridges for 6 weeks, starting on Wednesday 14th May 2025.
The aim of the project is for the pupils to take on the role of 'Unity Ambassadors', enabling the pupils to lead and encourage change within their schools and local communities, promoting cohesion and championing diversity. Each session utilises drama and creative arts to create an open dialogue around racism, hate, hate crime, diversity and stereotypes. It will enable the pupils to positively explore key issues within their school, community/town, country and the wider world. The project will provide 'a voice' to the pupils around these difficult topics.
Following these 6 sessions, the pupils will work with a professional filmmaker to create a film, containing the key messages and learning from the project. The film will be delivered, alongside a resource pack, to each school from September 2025. In addition to this, Burnley Youth Theatre will have scope to provide, to each school, a drama practitioner for a day who will deliver workshops to raise awareness of the issues highlighted within the film. This phase of the project seeks to promote the film to the wider school, making it accessible to all pupils and enabling the teachers to utilise it as a resource to generate their own conversations with the pupils to promote cohesion and diversity across their school long after the project has concluded.