THE council will hand over responsibility of a children’s centre to a Jewish charity in a bid to build trust with the Orthodox community.

The Jewel Foundation will now manage Sedgley Children’s Centre in Bishops Road after it reached an agreement with the council.

As part of the agreement, the charity will increase engagement between the local Jewish community and the council.

Bury Council wants to improve dialogue with the Haredi community in particular and for its members to use public services more.

This comes as the local authority reviews future arrangements for the management of children’s centres across the borough.

Cllr Tamoor Tariq, cabinet member for children and families, described the move as a “bold” and “radical” step forward.

But he told the cabinet at a meeting on Wednesday that the change does not mean that the children’s centre will be run exclusively for the Haredi Jewish community.

He said: “It’s an important step forward with the Jewish community and what we want to do with children centres in that area.

“Council staff will not be stepping away. We will still be involved. As well as checks and balances, we will be ensuring that the activities are not just run by the Jewel Foundation but is open to other communities.”

Sedgley councillor and cabinet member for environment Alan Quinn welcomed the “positive” move.

The Labour councillor told the cabinet that the Haredi Jewish community is one of the most deprived in Bury with some of the highest rates of unemployment.

He said: “We need to use the centre to upskill that community. But this is for everyone, it doesn’t matter what religion. It’s a real positive move forward. It’s been a long-time coming.”

Fellow Sedgley councillor David Silbiger said this is a “win-win” situation and an opportunity to revitalise the underused centre.

The Jewish councillor paid tribute to those within the community who supported the move.

He said: “We the Conservatives are very happy that this has come to fruition. It’s a very positive development for Sedgley. The council are gaining by maintaining the service but not having to run the whole thing.

“I’m more than happy that this has finally happened. I’m sure it will be a community asset.”