Members value the club to stop them feeling ‘trapped indoors with nowhere to go’

A COUNCIL plan to reduce rents for charities must be “put into action” to avoid the loss of key community services, it has been warned.

The alert comes as Ingestre Road Community Centre is forced to axe a lunch club for vulnerable older residents from next week.

On January 18, the Town Hall agreed to introduce a “social value rent discount policy” for organisations leasing council property. The plan will see rent reductions of roughly 50 per cent for any not-for-profit groups providing services to the community. But at Ingestre Road Community Centre, the help is coming too late.

Moira Lowman, 64, who is a regular visitor to the Monday lunch club at the community centre, said members had “suddenly been given two weeks’ notice” that their slot “for lunches, socialising, doing games, doing crafts” had been cut. “

“We really enjoy going there. It’s just socialising, it’s good for our mental health. We can’t stay trapped indoors with nowhere to go,” she said.

Michele Larner, who cooks for the club, “suddenly” discovered she was losing her job last week.

“I was contracted for two years but I’ve done nine months – because of a lack of funding they can’t hold on to me,” she said. “It’s all freshly home-cooked food. People come here and say they’ve never had such nice food, it’s a case of having a hot dinner and nice dessert, which I thrive on making for them. I’d be really, really sad if the [Monday] club does close.”

The centre is run by a small community charity that rents its building from the council.

Centre manager Michelle Tedore said its voluntary governing board had been forced to axe the Monday club as a cost-cutting measure.

“Since the increase in electricity [costs], our funds have run right down, and something had to go. The club that’s going is the one that’s meant for dementia and disability, which is not great,” Ms Tedore said.

“It’s a catch-22, because in order to keep the building, we have to have clubs.”

The centre’s Wednesday lunch club for people over 50 will remain.

According to Ms Tedore, the charity pays the council £24,500 in rent annually, on top of spiralling utility bills.

“Camden [Council] have been dangling a carrot in front of everyone, saying that depending on what you provide, they’re looking at cutting your rent,” she added. “It is the rent that’s killing us – obviously, that’s over £24,000 that could be getting out into the community. So we were hoping to get our rent right down.”

Of the rent reduction policy she said: “They’ve done the final draft, it’s all been agreed, but it’s still not been put into action.”

A council spokesperson said: “The council will contact the centre to discuss their current situation and see what support it can arrange, as well as seeing what other ways it can assist the group to continue meeting and how the council can help them work towards a sustainable future.”