On Thursday 12th September 2002, a public meeting was held at St. Thomas Church Hall.
The meeting was organised by a steering committee with the intention of forming a residents association for the improved environment of Mow Cop. There had been a few meetings by the steering committee in order to draft a constitution for the committee and also to begin action to obtain custodianship of the the waste ground opposite St. Thomas Church.

Since then the MCRA have gone from strength to strength, and have been involved in many community projects, from building a safe footpath for children to sponsoring a Luncheon Club for Senior Citizens. In 2005 they re-instaed the famous Killer Mile Race which now has over 700 runners on a regular basis. The Killer Mile is one of the many events and fundraising projects for the group.

In 2014 they were awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service

The group disbanded in 2016