More centres gradually taking council's terms

BUT FEARS REMAIN FOR COMMUNITY LEADERS

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE [e-mail]

MOST of the city's community centres are intending to go ahead with new city council arrange ments after previous plans were scrapped.

A small number of centres, hosting and running services ranging from food banks to nurseries, have handed back their keys to the city council as they felt they could not survive.

Previous plans, however, would have put the vast majority at the risk of closure, according to those running them, prompting the launch of the Post's Protect Nottingham Community Centres campaign in January.

Nottingham City Council said in a new update that, of the 30 centres remaining, 20 have already expressed an intention of moving forward with two months remaining for others to come forward.

Most of the centres could now end up surviving, although they have stressed that there are still several unknowns and the council says talks are at a "sensitive" stage.