A GROUP of residents have issued a personal appeal to the Mayor, Cllr Wendy Johnson as their beloved community house was slapped with a closure notice.
Nora Street Community House in Howley first opened 47 years ago. It was bequeathed to the community by Warrington New Town Corporation. But councillors at Warrington Borough Council have voted to shut it and given them just 14 days to clear the house.
Margaret Dolan, 78, who lives opposite the centre and established it with her late friend Sandra Kirk, is devastated.
It is now known as Dolan and Kirk Community House in honour of the two founders. They were recognised for their voluntary work by the Mayor in 2019.
Margaret said: “The building was never housing before it was given to us. It was previously offices.
“Over the years, we’ve supported many groups and fundraiser for many organisations. To many of our residents, the centre is a lifeline.
“We have had youth groups and baby groups.”
The centre has popular lunch clubs where people can enjoy a hot meal and a quiz, bingo and afternoon teas.
They’ve fundraiser to help rugby player Dan Hackney. And they raised more than £155 in a coffee morning for MacMillan Cancer Support.
The group is planning its annual holiday to Blackpool in January, despite the closure.
The letter reads: “Dear Madam Mayor, we respectfully ask you to bring to the attention of
the council the proposed closure of Nora Street Community House.
“Nora Street was gifted to the residents of Howley by the Warrington New Town Corporation.
“We have had no consultation with the council regarding its closure.
“Nora Street is the only community facility in Howley where it serves various groups. Residents’ social activities including lunches, dinners, bingo etc.”
There are also two groups from St Elphin’s Church, Amnesty International, painting class, litter pickers and the Credit Union.
It goes on: “We’ve been a ridiculous time of two weeks to clear the house, which at this time of year when we are hosting Christmas activities.”
Nora Street has been “a lifesaver over the years.”
They point out they still have much to offer the community, but need the house to continue.
The letter urges the mayor to reconsider.
A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are undertaking a review of our buildings across the council estate. This is to make sure we’re getting the best possible use out of the buildings we own.
“This review has highlighted that the centre on Nora Street is used by a limited number of groups – it is not a centre that has a significant number of users.
“While the review of our buildings and estates is not a purely financially-motivated review – it’s more about assessing how well we’re using our spaces – we need to acknowledge that the facility is under-utilised and is comparably expensive to operate, and we need to ensure we’re providing the best possible value-for-money across the services and facilities we operate.
“We’re therefore sorry that we have no viable alternative but to close the centre.
“We remain in touch with current users of the centre and we continue to offer them with support to identify new centres and facilities that they can use.”
The news comes after an interview with council Chief Executive Steven Broomhead warning of closures of some services in the new year to tackle the council’s debt.
4 Comments
Stop press
Will be a HMO next year !
If the building was bequeathed to the Community, why is WBC so anxious to take that facility away from the community? Bequeathed generally means it has been left in perpetuity to the community, not with strings attached. What regular costs do WBC incur for that facility to continue as it presently does? Why is WBC in such a hurry to deprive the community, without any prior or timely discussion, of an obvious benefit to the many people and organisations which use it? Frankly for WBC to essentially issue a fait accompli, in the manner they have, to those using the building (their bequeathed building) on the claimed basis it’s part of a cost cutting necessity is shameful.
Positron I think WBC would prefer what type of financial renumeration they could obtain from the premises better ie rent and council tax
Disgraceful decision. It’s not relevant how many people use it, but it’s a lifeline to local residents. Where are they supposed to go when it shuts? It is a place for companionship for the older residents, particularly,as well as for other age groups. They must know there would be some objections, or they wouldn’t be trying to rush this through over Christmas.