Does The Community Centre Have A Future?

[Mr Darn]

We had a strong class there on a wednesday once over, an hour for under 13's then an hour and a half for 13-adult, then due to a change of instructor, the numbers fell.

the origional instructor came back to a class of 6, barely enough to pay for the hall for an hour, never mind the late class.

As a class builder, he asked if he could have the room for half price for 6 weeks for the hour and a half (since we'd been there for over 2 years that i knew of!) so we could cut the price, have "bring a friend for free", still be able to include the youths for the first half hour etc to build it back up again.

"sorry, company policy, no can do. its full price or leave."

We left 3 weeks later for a new venue, and built the class back up within weeks. The room at the CC was not used on a wednesday night again, as far as i'm aware, and i believe they now close that day?? (i may be wrong about opening times)

its attitudes like this that stop organisations using the place. No help at all!

[Stephen]

After some rough calculations, if the Community Centre really costs £78,000 a year to run, then to break even it would have to be earning £30 every hour, for 10 hours a day, every weekday, 52 weeks of the year.

[Andy Millne]

Some answers may not be far away...

http://www.bedlington.co.uk/2009/12/community-group-looks-to-reverse-closure-trend/

[Malcolm Robinson]

After some rough calculations, if the Community Centre really costs £78,000 a year to run, then to break even it would have to be earning £30 every hour, for 10 hours a day, every weekday, 52 weeks of the year.

Stephen,

Not trying to be too pedantic but the figure you mentioned of 78K is supposed to represent the SUBSIDY cost not running costs. I presume that is what must be put into the pot once any contributions from the centre itself are eaten up? I would therefore assume we are being told even your figures are not the true running costs?

Without an independent audit or the figures released to the public at large I don't see why we should just accept what looks like arbitrary calculations?

[Stephen]

Stephen,

Not trying to be too pedantic but the figure you mentioned of 78K is supposed to represent the SUBSIDY cost not running costs. I presume that is what must be put into the pot once any contributions from the centre itself are eaten up? I would therefore assume we are being told even your figures are not the true running costs?

Without an independent audit or the figures released to the public at large I don't see why we should just accept what looks like arbitrary calculations?

Good point. I don't know how the figures break down but as I work for another large organisation (BT, though it's been getting rapidly smaller in the last year) I'd bet there are management overheads included i.e. senior people in the Leisure department whose costs will be divided between all the amenity budgets.

I wouldn't want to write a business plan based on my back of an envelope sums but I do think it shows that marketing the community centre to increase its usage isn't going to turn it around by itself, which is why I was trying to think of something that would share the cost.

[Malcolm Robinson]

Good point. I don't know how the figures break down but as I work for another large organisation (BT, though it's been getting rapidly smaller in the last year) I'd bet there are management overheads included i.e. senior people in the Leisure department whose costs will be divided between all the amenity budgets.

Exactly one of my points….are we just supposed to accept this figure for what is in reality a community owned asset? It might only take one person on film star's wages somewhere in the system to distort the costings.

I wouldn't want to write a business plan based on my back of an envelope sums but I do think it shows that marketing the community centre to increase its usage isn't going to turn it around by itself, which is why I was trying to think of something that would share the cost.

Again I agree with this and there are other options to be considered as well, as has already been pointed out on this thread.

[Stephen]

Arthur has been promised a breakdown of the costs so we should get some hard facts soon.

If we found out what the minimum running costs were - maintenance and utilities etc, then it might be possible to run the centre with volunteers to handle the room booking and access, and paying for a daily cleaning service.

[Malcolm Robinson]

Arthur has been promised a breakdown of the costs so we should get some hard facts soon.

If we found out what the minimum running costs were - maintenance and utilities etc, then it might be possible to run the centre with volunteers to handle the room booking and access, and paying for a daily cleaning service.

Looks like a step in the right direction.

This would be 'entirely' voluntary for you guys to take on wouldn't it?

[Stephen]

Looks like a step in the right direction.

This would be 'entirely' voluntary for you guys to take on wouldn't it?

First - I'm not necessarily suggesting the town council take it on, really I just want to see what the financial position is and therefore what the options are... that might be the answer but I wouldn't get too carried away with it just yet.

Second - not sure what you mean by your question about 'entirely' voluntary? Are you asking if the town councillors would be looking after the rooms and whether they would want some payment for it? I can only speak personally here but I already have one full-time day job and one voluntary job so I wouldn't have time to do it. As for payment, we all stood for election to the council in the full knowledge that it would be unpaid and nobody has ever expressed any desire to change that.

We do have some groups that are longstanding users of the community centre and who I think could be trusted to collect the key from somewhere before they use the room, and lock up and hand the key back afterwards (or even have their own copies, assuming that's OK with the insurance company). Perhaps for new groups you could ask for a deposit. So again, I think there are other ways of running the centre.

[Malcolm Robinson]

Second - not sure what you mean by your question about 'entirely' voluntary? Are you asking if the town councillors would be looking after the rooms and whether they would want some payment for it?

Not at all, I was asking if this would be a completely voluntary assignation if it went to the town council with regards to the county. As it stands taking it on now would wipe out all of this years precept!

Neither am I suggesting the town council taking it on is the panacea, I would have thought a very careful examination is called for

[Stephen]

The county haven't suggested we take it on or even made any offer, to date anyway. We're making our own enquiries to see what can be done, which might just be coming up with new ideas for the county and lobbying on behalf of Bedlington. Can't be certain until we get the breakdown, but it must be possible to run the centre for less than £78000 a year

[Dave]

If it was run correctly in the first place it would have been fine, but it was run by people with no imagination. 78K a year?

[Merlin]

No IMMAGINATION you're having a laugh, their imagination must be working treble time to run it at 78k (and thats minimum cost) when the place stands empty most of the time.

When it is under use, is it subsidised? If so to what extent? Something fishy going on here and it's not from Brians fish smoker either!

[Dave]

No IMMAGINATION you're having a laugh, their imagination must be working treble time to run it at 78k (and thats minimum cost) when the place stands empty most of the time.

When it is under use, is it subsidised? If so to what extent? Something fishy going on here and it's not from Brians fish smoker either!

I see what you mean. Ive been thinking about Bedlington and its spending sprees on local " Community " projects. Like the rehashing of the market place 10 years or so after it was done the last time. Imagine if that cash would have been spent on something people might actually want, or something that might bring people into Bedlington - you know, the things we have to travel too, like swim , play five aside football, hockey - instead we have/had a community drinking hole, that was cheap but well thats about it. Just Imagine if Bedlington had something that Morpeth,Ashington crammlington didnt have! But now we've got some new seats and a paving slabs

[Merlin]

Well last week it was reported in the local press that Bedlington have a leisure centre,well they are going to close leisure centres with losses of jobs in Ashington,Newbiggin and Bedlington! Are the powers that be so out of touch that they really think we have a leisure centre in Bedlington? Also reported they are actually thinking of bulldozing Newbiggin leisure centre and building a new one! It beggars belief. £10 MILLION on sand that will end up at Cambois. EH! Now a new LEISURE CENTRE! Nobody uses the old one thats why it's closing, and they are talking of building a new one, who are these people? Did we actually vote these people into POWER or did they just pop up from some defunct slek heap, they know nothing of our community and everything they say or do proves it! Get a grip, Bedlington is in the throes of death! Wake up before it is too late, if it is not already!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Dave,

Whilst I completely agree with your sentiments I think you have picked the wrong target for your ire. The recent work done at the Market Place derived from efforts by a community group whose only remit was to try for stuff like this. They had and have no legitimacy going after what we can all see as an abject lack of community facilities in the town. We now have another community group looking into that, lets hope they are as successful.

Merlin,

I read that article and shook my head as well, but I presume they are talking about our community centre being put on notice?

I like your last sentence and I think we, as a community, have been too re-active for too long, it's about time we became pro-active!

[Dave]

Dave,

Whilst I completely agree with your sentiments I think you have picked the wrong target for your ire. The recent work done at the Market Place derived from efforts by a community group whose only remit was to try for stuff like this. They had and have no legitimacy going after what we can all see as an abject lack of community facilities in the town. We now have another community group looking into that, lets hope they are as successful.

Merlin,

I read that article and shook my head as well, but I presume they are talking about our community centre being put on notice?

I like your last sentence and I think we, as a community, have been too re-active for too long, it's about time we became pro-active!

I remember a play park/basketball thing was built down from the pit heaps, if its still there, ive yet to see any kids using it, and no wonder - it was rubbish, who thought that would be a good idea, someone did. It wasnt , it was a half arsed attempt, spending a bit and then probably whinging that no one used it. If all the money thats been spent on pointless tat around Bedlington over the years the town could have had proper facilities years ago. Its a lack of ambition. I have no real hope that it will change,

[Merlin]

Talking of tat and a waste of money, who's bright idea were the white posts on the car park at the band stand. Have we ever had any problems with this car park? It's now a danger to enter and leave this car park. I also notice that someone, be it council or vandalism, has burnt the lock off these so called gates. Look if you've got money to get rid of near the end of march, do us a favour and spend half a mill' getting these white elephants dug up, I'll go so far as to say PLEASE

[Mr Darn]

They were put there after an accident after dark one night involving 2 "young persons" cars that had "skidded on the ice" "by accident". (Read: young males in cars handbrake turning and lost control)

apparently a young lady was hurt to the point of a broken bone, but i forget the details.

I've never had any problems getting in and out of there since it was done, although i agree they should be a different colour, seeing as how they were put there because of an accident in the "snow!"

I believe the same was done to block off the Humford Woods car park too?

Edited December 31, 2009 by Mr Darn

[Malcolm Robinson]

The problem I have is that I can't see any real dosh which has been spent, even on 'pointless tat'! It is exactly this under-investment over the years which has left us in the present predicament. If we take Merlin's 10 million, probably a close enough figure for a multiuse facility, we have never seen anything like that spent on the town in the last 30 years! We have seen the law courts and new police station etc but it would be really stretching appoint to call them community facilities, or some might say not!

With the present budget constrictions imposed by council we certainly won't see any large capital projects for the foreseeable future coming our way from them. That makes community efforts to try and redress the problem even more important and urgent I would have thought.

[Dave]

Shall we get a whip round going then

[Merlin]

They were put there after an accident after dark one night involving 2 "young persons" cars that had "skidded on the ice" "by accident". (Read: young males in cars handbrake turning and lost control)

apparently a young lady was hurt to the point of a broken bone, but i forget the details.

I've never had any problems getting in and out of there since it was done, although i agree they should be a different colour, seeing as how they were put there because of an accident in the "snow!"

I believe the same was done to block off the Humford Woods car park too?

Mr darn, first off, Happy New Year secondly, you can't have been using this car park, I mean the posts are still there :lol: :lol:

[Malcolm Robinson]

Shall we get a whip round going then

As Rob Brydon would say, it's just a bit of fun……….

If WDC was our council for say 35 years and we had about 10,000 households in Bedlingtonshire, the ones who would probably use a Bedlington leisure centre, and the rates (inc county ones) averaged about 500 quid a year what would be the total we had paid in?

£175,000000!

Still want to organise a whip round Dave?

[Dave]

As Rob Brydon would say, it's just a bit of fun……….

If WDC was our council for say 35 years and we had about 10,000 households in Bedlingtonshire, the ones who would probably use a Bedlington leisure centre, and the rates (inc county ones) averaged about 500 quid a year what would be the total we had paid in?

£175,000000!

Still want to organise a whip round Dave?

I think I was being sarcastic ..

[Mr Darn]

Mr darn, first off, Happy New Year secondly, you can't have been using this car park, I mean the posts are still there :lol: :lol:

Yeah, its the bigger ones with the lights on top i seem to keep missing! (Or hitting as the case may be!)