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A cinema club is amongst a raft of activities being staged in a Preston suburb in order to ensure locals have somewhere warm to gather – and something enjoyable to do – during the winter ahead.

A coalition of community groups have come together in Ingol and Tanterton to create a directory detailing all of the events – both new and existing – which people can attend to escape homes that they may struggle to heat in the cold months to come.

The Intact Centre is laying on four new “warm space” gatherings at its Whitby Avenue base from this week, offering free food, as well as games and the chance for a chat. On Saturday mornings, that will take the form of a film and breakfast.

However, the Unite Community Partnership, which was established by the Ingol and Tanterton Neighbourhood Council to co-ordinate the support services on offer to residents, is also keen to promote all of the other activities already happening in the area – a total of more than 60 each week, meaning that there is something on offer most days, usually for free, from morning until early evening.

Ingol and Tanterton residents can be assured of a warm welcome at a range of activities and gatherings this winter

The list includes gardening, walking and youth groups, cookery classes, yoga, chair aerobics, bingo and boxing. Support with job searches and free access to computers is also available.

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Denise Hartley, chief executive officer of the Intact Centre, said that the aim was to offer people a wide choice of activities – and to make those attending any one of them aware of all the others that they might also enjoy or benefit from.

“In the warm spaces themselves, we’re going to have games, we’ll have the TV on if people want to watch the World Cup, for instance – and there’ll be board games and the like.

Denise Hartley MBE wants to cross-promote activities so that locals know what is on offer on their own doorstep

“But the main thing is that they are places where people can just come along, participate in loads of different things and get some free food and warmth.

“It’s about doing what we can to support people – and, with the cost of living, it’s not just the vulnerable who need support, everybody does. And everybody is welcome – the Unite Community Partnership wants everyone to know that there are places you can come to,” said Denise.

The new warm spaces are being funded, in part, by contributions from the Cadent Gas network and Ingol and Tanterton Neighbourhood Council.Council chair Bruce Ellison said that the authority had been supporting “vital community centres for many years”.

“But this year, we wanted to use some of our financial reserves to help people who will be hit hardest by the cost of living crisis,” he added.

Ingol and Tanterton warm spaces and activities - Mondays and Tuesdays

The new warm spaces will be open at the Intact Centre on Mondays between 3.30pm and 6.30pm, with free food, Wednesdays from 1.30pm until 4.30pm – a “soup and social” – Thursdays from 2pm until 5pm, when a free meal will be on offer, and Saturdays for the cinema club and free breakfast between 9.30am and 12.30pm. They will each run until the spring.

Free film and breakfast to form part of Ingol and Tanterton's "warm spaces" programme