Michelle Tedore at the Ingestre Road Community Centre, which is set to close 

• FOUR Camden community centres have now gone bust recently owing rent to the council, (Centre ‘killed by rent’ is set to close, June 22).

How many more? In Gospel Oak alone two others were demolished.

The ward councillor (Sylvia McNamara) on the latest closure, neglects to say in your report that community centres bring in many £100,000s each year in funding from charities.

Camden Council cannot apply for this funding. Yes, the council may now give the much reduced sum of £4million to the voluntary sector, but something like £1million is clawed back in rents and business rates by the council.

Councils have for many years had the power to reduce rents on the basis of social value but Camden refused to use it until now.

I wrote earlier about having to use the Freedom of Information Act even to find out that an organisation had been given council premises for free for the last 18 months. Again, a veil of secrecy.

During Covid lockdown many community centres ran food banks and continue to do so but are charged rent and have fully repairing leases.

The closure of a community centre results not only in a loss of considerable charitable funding but also the many hours of volunteers’ and trustees’ work, all unpaid; unlike that of councillors.

Is it not time that there was independent scrutiny of how decisions on rents and leases are made, rather than what appears to be by grace and favour of officers?

I am sure that cabinet member Cllr Nadia Shah “is saddened” by the closure decision. No doubt those who have lost their services provided by the centre are also.

MICK FARRANT, NW5