Page 5 - link magazine

swindonlink.com • November 2009 5
Hope community centre will rise again from the ashes

A new management committee is being put together after Freshbrook Village Group, which ran the community centre since it opened in 1984,
was de-registered by the charity commission at the end of September for not submitting accounts for the last six years.
Landlords Swindon nor did it want to delve could generate funds in other ways.
Council immediately into the charity’s affairs, Following the meeting over
shut the building on but we will work with twenty people met council officers
the grounds that there residents to find a way several times in October to discuss
was no legal body to forward to reopen the an application to start a new charity
run it, before calling building - if that’s what and the responsibilities and liabili-
a public meeting on people want.” ties of running a community centre.
30 September. In a Tina Mackie said, Another public meeting will
packed hall well over “in the past few people have to be held to agree a new
100 people demand- turned up to village constitution and members of a new
ed to know why the group annual general management committee.
council had suddenly meetings which is why
closed the centre, caus- management became so Too much for one person
ing disarray for user Freshbrook community group members discussing the crisis weak; it’s lovely to see so After it was shut down, former
groups like the com- many people now that community centre secretary Terry
munity cafe, the parent and toddler Council community halls of- we have a crisis. If we want to see Iles told swindonlink.com: “The
group, Sullivan School of Dance, ficer Chris Hunt explained that the building open again, we have management committee did not
bingo club, Raleigh dog training, the building was leased to the to work together to rebuild our function for nearly two years. People
and members of the licensed bar. community and the council was community centre.” said they would serve at the last
Carol Gibbons, coordinator of the not in a position to interfere with Many of the user groups have annual general meeting but didn’t
community cafe, told the meeting management or to take over the been accommodated in the commu- stay long enough or failed to turn up.
the council should have worked running of the charity. nity rooms at Millbrook Primary, “There were three treasurers
with the community to find a solu- She had repeatedly tried to but the dog training groups are during this period.
tion to avoid closure. contact Village Group secretary now homeless and want to return. “It’s been a downward spiral for
Phil Packer said the licenced bar Terry Iles to offer assistance without Whether a licensed bar remains several years and I now realise that I
paid £14,000 annual rent to the char- success. The council had to protect in the centre will test the resolve of kept the centre going for far too long,
ity and many of its 150 members, its asset after the charity commis- a future management committee. but having been involved for well
particularly retired people, did sion made its decision. Without a Youth worker Dave Davison said over 20 years, it was difficult not to.
not have anywhere to go and were management committee there was many more youth activities could “Although I’m the last man stand-
likely to miss out on their annual no insurance or health and safety take place but he believed licenced ing, the others who joined the last
Christmas party. He wanted to compliance. premises in close proximity to management committee still have
know where the funds had gone Coun Peter Greenhalgh said, young people is not appropriate. a legal responsibility for liabilities.”
and also why the council could not “the council had no obligation or He said a business plan had to Read the full interview at www.
Project2:Layout 2 8/10/09 10:43 Page 1
have intervened earlier. desire to run the community centre, be put together to see if the centre swindonlink.com

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