Over 100 people, including a Nottingham Labour councillor, have signed an open letter protesting against Nottingham City Council's plan to end funding for its community centres.
An open letter signed by over 100 people - including a serving Nottingham Labour councillor - has been sent to the city council calling for our vital community centres to be protected. Nottinghamshire Live and the Nottingham Post have launched the 'Protect Nottingham Community Centres' campaign today (January 13) as the council prepares to completely end the support it gives to these vital institutions.
Our campaign has received the backing of community centre representatives from across Nottingham, with people coming together from areas including Sherwood, Bulwell and Lenton. A serving Nottingham Labour councillor, Councillor Kirsty L Jones in Mapperley, has even added her name to the open letter, risking the wrath of her party. The city council provides a subsidy of £613,298 a year to all of these community centres combined, covering items including staffing, repairs and maintenance. Faced with multi-million-pound budget gaps in the coming years, the authority now wants to reduce this subsidy to zero by April 2025. It means the council will be attempting to agree new leases with the centres, which would see them move off their current peppercorn rents and onto a market-level rent. For some, this will mean a new bill of around £30,000 a year, compared to a peppercorn rent which could have been as low as £10. Nottingham City Council has more recently said that it recognises the importance of the services delivered at community centres and wants a 'core offer' to remain, saying it will work with centres to produce business plans for the future. The council also says it could introduce a phased period where future rent bills are deferred and discounted. Our campaign is calling for: Our open letter has been sent to Councillor Corall Jenkins, the executive member for communities at the city council, and Colin Parr, the authority's corporate director for communities. Signed by over 100 community centre trustees, staff and users, you can read the open letter in full below. Open letter to Nottingham City Council as part of our Protect Nottingham Community Centres campaign Dear Councillor Jenkins and Mr Parr, We write today to publicly express our grave concerns about Nottingham City Council's plans to completely end the support given to its network of community centres. These facilities collectively deliver vital services for thousands of Nottingham's most vulnerable residents every single week. These centres are helping those in long-term unemployment back into work, holding mental health support sessions and hosting food banks. They are also home to scores of cherished groups and services ranging from pre-schools to lunch clubs for the elderly. The dedicated volunteers running these centres, many of whom have given decades of service to their communities, believe that the most vulnerable could suffer as a result of the city council’s current approach. We all recognise that the council continues to face severe financial challenges. Yet these challenges are not the fault of the thousands of people who have come to rely on their local community centre. The council says it wants to reduce its current annual subsidy to community centres from over £600,000 to zero by April 2025. Many centres are also being told that they must move off their current peppercorn rents and onto commercial rates which will mean a bill of around £30,000 a year for some - rates which the centres simply cannot afford. Yet the council also says it recognises the importance of the services delivered at these centres and wants a 'core network' to remain, saying that it will work with centres to produce business plans for the future. The council also says it could introduce a phased period where future rent bills are deferred and discounted. If any centres are to survive, we believe the council needs to start this New Year with a much more transparent, collaborative, lenient and equitable approach. We are calling for the council to host a meeting with as many representatives from the centres as possible. Some centres have not heard from the city council in months, whilst some are receiving council letters that others have not seen. All the community centres need to be brought together at this meeting, giving them the chance to question the council and for the council to publicly set out its approach. The council’s current pledges around deferred rent payments are lacking in detail. We believe the council should use the meeting we are calling for to share a fully fledged scheme in terms of how rent payments in future could work. This scheme should come with as much leniency as possible in terms of deferrals, discounts and support for when a centre cannot pay its monthly rent bil
COMMUNITY CENTRES NOTTINGHAM COUNCIL FUNDING CUTS CAMPAIGN
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