COMMUNITY cafe Momo's is working with St Helens Council to organise a Victorian Street Festival in a bid to raise money for the Gamble building.

Since opening in their first home on Cotham Street, Momo's, which has since moved to their bigger Westfield Street venue, has aimed to be a hub of the community, hosting workshops and groups for all in society.

Most recently, owner Claire Rigby has been putting together borough and regional history lectures in the cafe, which have been sold out.

Inspired by this, and wanting to do something to help raise funds to complete necessary works on the Gamble building, Claire has teamed up with St Helens Council to host a Victorian Street Festival on Monday, August 31 and is looking for people to get involved.

Situated in Victoria Square, the Gamble building was built in the late 1800s and officially opened in 1896, a gift to the people of St Helens by Sir David Gamble.

The internal and external condition of the building has deteriorated over the years, which culminated in the closure of Central Library in 2017 following a ceiling collapse.

The council’s archive service is still based there, along with many council staff.

Back in April 2018, the council announced plans to establish a temporary library at The World of Glass, part of wider plans to turn the museum into an arts and cultural centre.

A firm date has still not been set for the opening of the new town centre library.

A consultation on the future of the Gamble building is also set to take place this month.

Discussing the plans, Momo's owner Claire Rigby, said: "After starting my talks on local history, I realised the passion that St Helens has for their own history and that of their ancestors.

"So I came up with the idea that we should do a fun day to celebrate our rich history throughout the Victorian history and Industrial Revolution.

"But like all things I do, it’s snowballed into a huge festival. So I thought let’s grab this opportunity to raise money for our beloved Gamble Building.

"So we decided that all money made on that day will go towards bringing the library home again.

"It's about celebrating creatives as well, so we want people with any creative background who wants to get involved to come to Momo's on Thursday, March 5 at 6pm and tell us how they want to get involved.

"It's about celebrating our history."

Council Leader David Baines added: “It was great to meet with Claire who like myself and so many others is passionate about making a positive difference in our borough.

“St Helens Council is committed to bringing our communities together which is evident though the work achieved by our very own small but brilliant events team who put on some wonderful free, family-friendly events throughout the year - and I was very happy to ask them to meet with Claire and do all we can to help make her idea of a Victorian festival a success.

"The festival will offer something different. I'm particularly looking forward to it because it promotes our fantastic heritage and is supporting our desire to fully repair and restore the historic Gamble Building.”