| See Evening Telegraph Letters' Page |
| Council Grants Bumper Shareout (Evening Telegraph) |
| Evening Telegraph article about grant cuts |
28 June, 1999.
| Community Association |
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| Stephenson Way | 19,010 |
20,000 |
12,000 |
THE AGREEMENT
At the grant's presentation meeting, the various committees were asked to sign an agreement between themselves and the council, but the council didn't say what that agreement was. A few days later we received written confirmation of the grant allocation, the amount allotted to each centre. In the letter, the council once again reiterated that we have to sign an agreement, the nature of which was still not made known. The council will inform us when they're ready to disclose what it is we're supposed to sign up to.
GRANTS AND THE FUNCTION OF COMMUNITY CENTRES
Cutting our annual grant will forever change the way community centres operate. Corby council are now encouraging us to run our centres in a more business-like and commercial manner; committees are told that in order to survive they must generate an income. The worry is that community centres will become alienated from the very people they're supposed to benefit; local people will not be able to afford the facilities they once enjoyed as a right. They will end up taking second place to fee-paying outside groups. What then? Community centres will cease to be the focal point for a particular area. Instead, they will become just another place of hire — a place where anyone with enough money can hold a function. Cash-strapped committees will soon face the harsh reality of choosing fee-payers over their own, even if their areas are classified as deprived and underprivileged. The sad fact is that by definition the underprivileged have no money. It could mean they will only benefit from what's left after everyone else has had their share. Management committees must ensure that this does not happen — community centres should be of benefit primarily to the people living within the allotted boundaries. But how will we achieve this and still remain solvent? Perhaps community centre chairman ought to get together to discuss ideas and learn from each others' experiences?