Charteris will 'close in the near future' - Sue Harper but may re-open in one ot two months - campaigners

Brent Council has decided not to proceed with the Save Charteris Sports Centre Campaign's proposal to take over and run the Centre as a community project.

In a ten page letter Sue Harper, Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services, sets out the reasons why the council feels the project is not viable.

A detailed analysis was undertaken by officers responsible for sports and leisure provision, specialists in contract and human resources law, senior financial and human resources advisors and a Health and Safety Inspector.

The council make it clear that any proposal should be at zero cost to them and have no risks attached. They set out risks in terms of the financial viability of the proposal and question the Campaign's assumptions about revenue streams and expenditure, costs of running the building and long term maintenance, and question the free transfer of equipment assets worth £40,000.  They question whether the proposed staffing structure would ensure health and safety and suggest that TUPE would apply if the main functions of the Centre continue. Applying TUPE would involve additional costs.

The council says the proposal does not meet the expectation that Charteris would be a safe facility and cites the proposal's silence on CRB checks and safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults. They suggest that the council may face legal challenge from other potential users if they offered the building at a peppercorn rent to the Charteris Campaign.

After thanking the group for the 'interest they have shown'  Sue Harper concludes: "...however, we cannot ignore the financial and legal risks involved for the council, and so we will be implementing the decision to close Charteris Sports Centre in the near future."

One key summary comment in the Council's Appraisal is perhaps a warning to other campaigns, including those proposing 'volunteer' solutions for libraries faced with closures, as well as raising issues about the viability of the  'Big Society' in general:

"Heavy reliance on volunteers. Will this commitment be sustained? Must recognise high likelihood of turnover as some people use volunteering as a springboard to career and others move away.

Insufficient material on how volunteer base will be recruited, nurtured and managed without the hard core becoming lumbered and themselves drifting away...

Meanwhile campaigners have invited supporters to attend the Centre this evening between 8 and 10pm to mark its last day as a Brent-run facility.  They still hope to re-open the facility  in one or two months saying that they have offers of 'serious money' from two sports charities and support from the Minister of Sport, Mayor of London, local MPs and some local councillors.

Save Charteris on FACEBOOK

Council threatens to remove equipment from Charteris Sports Centre

Brent Council has threatened to remove sports equipment from Charteris Sports Centre in Kilburn  for  'health and safety' reasons just as campaigners push for serious consideration of their business plan to save the Centre from closure.

The community struggle to keep the centre open was covered by  BBC London earlier this week - LINK

Local Press on Council Cuts

Here is another round-up of the local press on cuts. Don't forget there is a demonstration against Brent Council cuts organised by Brent Fightback from 6pm on Monday February 28th outside the Town Hall. WWO is the Wembley and Willesden Observer and WBT the Willesden and Brent Times. These are only brief notes so do buy the papers for the full story.

CUTS     - CHILDREN
LIFELINE FOR SPECIAL NEEDS UNDER THREAT WWOp1  KIDS HIT BY LATEST CUTS WBTp1 Contrary to the Council's commitment to protect the front-line the portage service, which aims to give children with disabilities an equal chance in life is to be cut. A council spokeswoman admitted the service was important but said it was not legally required.
'RESTRUCTURING WON'T HARM CHILDREN'S SERVICES' WBTp2  PROMISE NOT TO CUT SURE START, BUT NO TO NEW CENTRES WWOp10  Despite cuts of £2.25m in children's centres, and not opening those at Sudbury, Cricklewood and Kingsbury. Denise Burke, Brent early years and childcare manager,  maintains that they will not affect the service and Cllr Mary Arnold says that young people are the victims of 'right-wing slash and burn attitudes to the welfare state' but expresses pride that 'we have found a way to protect all our centres'. However Sarah Teather MP, says that the government has put the same amount of money into the Sure Start pot but Brent Council has withdrawn £2.25m. She says children centres, services and staff are at risk.

CUTS - LIBRARIES
LIB DEMS: WE CAN SAVE LIBRARIES WBTp2, OPPOSITION'S ALTERNATIVE BUDGET TO SAVE LIBRARIES AND CENTRE WWOp11  Lib Dems propose an alternative budget to the one being voted on on Monday. They propose axing the regeneration budget and using £2.2m Labour were going to put into reserves. the would not replace the director of housing, reduce the administration costs of the neighbourhood working scheme and remove the London Weighting from Hay Grade salaries.  Cllr Muhammed Butt says that the £2.2m put into reserves is a one-off grant: "If we use it this year what do we do next year? This is not spare cash." The Lib Dems claim their budget would enable libraries to stay open for a year while alternative plans are formulated to keep them open, they'd reinstate green zones, cut £1m from the CPZ charges, save the Welsh Harp Centre and reverse the children centres cuts.
MP ATTACKS PLANS TO AXE HALF LIBRARIES IN BOROUGH WBTp4 'CUT SALARIES BEFORE YOU CLOSE LIBRARIES' WWOp5  Speaking at the Save Preston Library public meeting, Barry Gardiner MP attacks Cllr Powney over library closures and says libraries are essential to any civilised society. He questioned why there are 50 people in Brent Council who earn as much as Eric Pickles.
WE BACK THE LIBRARIES BATTLE WBTp17 Brent Arts Council backs the Save Our Libraries campaigns.
CLEAR SUPPORT FOR ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SERVICE WBTp17 A Queens Park residents calls on the Council to listen to residents and adapt their policy on libraries accordingly.

MP'S VIEWS ON LIBRARY POLICY QUITE RIGHT WBTp17 Richard Cross attacks Cllr Ann John for suggesting that libraries not so important now that books are available at supermarkets, second hand and from Amazon.
NEW TORY COUNCILLOR WILL FIGHT TO KEEP BRENT LIBRARIES OPEN WWOp10 Suresh Kansagra, who won the Kenton by-election. pledge to keep fighting against library closures.

CUTS - SPORTS FACILITIES
'USE IT OT LOSE IT' BID TO SAVE SPORTS CENTRE WBTp5 Simon Rogers of Brent Eleven Streets Residents Association seeks to save Charteris Sports Centre, the 'only community space' in the area and calls for the community to take it over. He says the worst scenario would be if the council gave them the centre without support 'but the most important thing for us is to keep the doors open'.
ANGER OVER THREAT TO LEGAL CENTRE WBTp7 After 'transformation project' as the word for library closures Brent Council has coined 'decommissioning' as the term for closing the Brent Law Centre. Former  Labour and Conservative councillors as well as current Lib Dems combine to criticise the move and say it will store up problems for the future. OUR VIEW WBTp17 Editorial making the case for the Law Centre and saying Monday's council meeting should not vote to cut it.

CUTS - PARK WARDENS
FEAR OF 'NO-GO AREAS' IF PARK WARDENS CUT WWOp13 PARC (Park Area Residents Campaign) are fighting to save the warden of Brent River Park (Tokyngton Rec. Monks Park) and fear that without the warden it will not be safe for families. Ten people will lose their jobs in park warden cuts and will be replaced by mobile teams.  Cllr Ann John campaigned for wardens eight years ago but says she has been forced to cut the funding and has no choice but to balance the books. She says if funding increases, wardens will be top of the list for reinstatement.

Brent Labour Executive Vote for Cuts

The largest public attendance at Brent Executive for years

Tonight's meeting of the Brent Executive was crowded with the public who had turned up to protest about various cuts and closure plans. Some were locked out when the room became too crowded but the mood was subdued as if everyone knew that the Labour councillors would just nod it all through. And so it came to pass.

The biggest turn-out was from Charteris Sports Centre and the various library campaigns. Speeches were eloquent and often emotional.   The Council's consultation processes once again came under attack with figures described as inaccurate and often misleading and with overwhelming lack of evidence for some of the claims made in documentation.

One library campaigner described the Civic Centre as a 'white elephant which nobody wants' and evidence of the Wembley-centric nature of the Brent Council. He said, "The Council knows the price of the libraries but not their value" and claimed closing libraries was as much a crime as burning books.

Another said that by saving money in the short-term the Council was permanently damaging the borough in the long-term.

Supporters of the Charteris Sports Centre said that it had above average use by youth and disabled groups and that the local police had said that crime was likely to go up in the area  if it closed. They were proposing a council-community partnership and condemned the lack of an Equalities Impact Assessment on the closure plans. To cheers the representatives  expressed their determination to keep up the fight.

An amendment to the budget motion from Cllr James Powney, stating that the council remains in talks over library services and Charteris Sports Centre which may have an effect on the budget, was adopted by the Executive.

Jamie Ritchie spoke on behalf of the Brent Law Centre and said that the Council had given a demonstration on how NOT to treat the voluntary sector. They should not tell an organisation that they had funding for a year and then cut it halfway through and not say that they will consult and the decide to close it before the consultation was completed. He said the Law Centre was experiencing a double whammy from the Council and the Government. He pointed out that law centres ave the authorities 10 times as much money as the amount that is spent on them. Law Centres were required more than every and demand was increasing. Deprived of such assistance people would turn to 'self-help' in the form of crime.

In a heart-felt presentation two parents who use the Three Trees Children's Centre in Kensal Rise described the strong support they had received from staff and how it had changed their lives. Councillor Ann John stated that there was no intention to remove any substantial services and that there would be consultation over changes. She insisted that no Children's Centre would be closed, but did not mention that  three planned ones will not now open.

There was no debate about the budget proposals on the Executive and no questions. There were brief presentations from the lead members, often inaudible to the public, and then each proposal was agreed unanimously.

Action will now move to the full Council meeting on February 28th where Brent Fightback will be holding a lobby from 6pm outside the Town Hall. Campaigns are urged to bring banners and placards and as many supporters as possible.

Charteris Campaign will lobby Brent Executive on Tuesday

Lobby Brent Council

on Tuesday, February 15^th 6pm

at Brent Town Hall Wembley

Save

Charteris

Sports

Centre

For more details and help:

Join our campaign on facebook

Web: www.savecharteris.wordpress.com

E mail : saveourcentre2012@gmail.com

Save Charteris Sports Centre: A valuable community resource

This is a message from the campaign to save Charteris Sports Centre

Charteris provides great value gym membership.  It is the only local sports centre, which allows members to  "pay as your go". Apart from “gym” activities, It hosts team sports (e.g. football, badminton) fitness classes, martial arts and yoga.

Charteris is also a valuable community resource, far more than just a gym, offering, children's parties, holiday activities for children and hosts our local cycling project.  It's our "community centre" and now it's set for closure!

Our aim is to keep Charteris SERVICE run by Brent. Unfortunately Charteris Sports Centre sits on land, which can be sold to a private housing developer; Public asset stripping- Private profit!  

We ask Brent to agree to:

1) STOP the threatened closure on the 1st April 2011.

2) Agree to meet with local residents and centre users to discuss the alternatives to the "destruction" of this irreplaceable public resource.