New council leases could put us at risk, claim centre bosses

MOVE FOLLOWS SUBSIDY AXE TO COMMUNITY GROUPS IN CITY

- By JOSEPH LOCKER @Local democracy reporter

COMMUNITY centre leaders and campaigners fear groups are being forced to sign new leases that put them at risk of costly repair bills far too quickly.

Nottingham City Council is cutting a £612,000 subsidy to community centres and the associations that run them, saying the system was "not sustainable in the long term".

Initially, the Labour authority planned to agree new leases with community associations at market-level rents, meaning some groups could have had their costs go up by tens of thousands of pounds.

However this was scrapped following an outcry, and because there was a risk some centres could be forced to close.

A new plan to charge groups a flat fee to pay for a council officer to help manage centres was proposed instead.

Associations now have until March 31 to agree to leases that will make them responsible for the centres, and any and all repairs that may be needed.

Peter Churchill, chairman of The Place Activity Centre in Sherwood, said: "We are enthusiastic about getting a new long-term lease, because it gives us a route to access larger grants."

But he said: "There are still a lot of bumps to overcome, and the council wants to shimmy us along.