12 July 2010
Green Councillors in Witham and Silver End are pressing the Cabinet of Braintree District Council to review its halls policy as 2 halls face an uncertain future for community use - the Silver End Village Hall and the Forest Road Community Centre.
The current BDC policy is to hand over the management of community halls to 3rd parties and to bring in new hire fees by September on halls still in its control. If local management cannot be secured, BDC has said it may close some halls.
Silver End Green District Councillors James Abbott and Philip Hughes will be proposing a recommendation to the Witham Local Committee tomorrow evening (13th July) requesting that the BDC Cabinet changes its stance to prevent lasting damage to community groups in Silver End.
Silver End Village Hall does not face closure, but long term regular users are facing huge increases in their fees which could put the community use of the building in doubt. One group says it's fees will treble and it will have to close. Another faces more than a doubling of fees and has written to BDC to say that this could force them out of Silver End Village Hall. The new fees were due to come in earlier this year but were put on hold - but now they are due to come in in full force in September.
At the Full Council meeting of Monday 28th June, Councillor James Abbott called on the Cabinet to change its policy and retain the management of Silver End Village Hall. With the September deadline looming, Cllr. Abbott said the hall, which is believed to be the largest village hall in England, was simply too large for a 3rd party to manage and that the fees increase could force groups to move, or close down and that this would then deny BDC valuable revenue from fees.
Cllr. Abbott said
"Local community groups are an essential part of the social fabric of our villages. When I asked the Cabinet on 28th June if the result of their policies would be that groups folded or had to move out, the response was essentially 'shame, but tough - our policy is set'.
That's a very hard nosed attitude to take given that these groups help vulnerable people in our society and provide a highly valued service.
We do understand the financial pressures on BDC in the current climate and we support sensible savings. But the halls policy seems to have little flexibility and the effect could actually be to reduce BDC's income if hirers are forced to pull out."
Fellow Silver End District Councillor Phil Hughes said
"Cllr Abbott and I wrote to BDC some weeks ago calling on them to retain the management of Silver End Village Hall. If the Cabinet does change its position, we would be keen to work with them, the Parish Council and groups in the village to improve the Village Hall as a joint project. The more attractive we can make the hall, the more it is likely to be used. Outstanding projects are the kitchen and the old heating system which we support being replaced with modern efficient ones."
Witham North Ward Green Town Councillor Nick Scales has voiced concern about the potential closure of the Forest Road Community Centre. It is believed that currently both the Silver End and Forest Road facilties do not have a 3rd party management agreement in place, with just 2 months to go before the deadline, and that as a result the future of the Forest Road building is precarious.
Cllr. Nick Scales said
" A few weeks ago Witham Town Council held a public meeting into the proposal for major development between Witham and Rivenhall. The meeting was held at the Forest Road Community Centre which was packed - standing room only. It is ironic that a development proposal that is opposed by the vast majority of local residents is being supported by BDC in its Local Development Framework documents, but the hall that local people meet in to discuss the issue faces closure by BDC."
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