Blow as funding withdrawn from community hub
COMMUNITY leaders are furious after council chiefs pulled the plug on plans to build a new £1m community hub in Hurdsfield.
Cheshire East Council announced its plans in 2014 to redevelop the current family centre on Nicholson Close which supports young families.
But the scheme which was due to open in September and aimed to bring together several services and activities under an upgraded building have now been scrapped.
The council had planned to pay for the £1m scheme using the money it got from selling land in Hurdsfield to Peaks and Plains Housing Trust for a new social housing development.
Councillor Steve Carter, who represents Hurdsfield ward, said he was ‘furious’ at the decision and the council’s failure to consult him on it.
He said: “After the fanfare in the Macclesfield Express in 2014 of the £1 million investment in the Hurdsfield Family Centre the money has been withdrawn with no consultation and no conversation with me.
“Cheshire East Council say the centre will stay open and function as normal but will not get a new building. When you vote for cuts this is what you get. Furious.”
In 2014 the council identified Hurdsfield as one of five locations in the borough which needed attention during the council’s Creating Stronger Communities Review. At the time then council leader, Coun Michael Jones, said the investment was much needed because of the “extremely poor condition” of the current facilities.
But two years on the council has now admitted the project has been shelved.
A Cheshire East Council spokesman said: “The council remains firmly committed to the services provided at this centre but plans to refurbish the building were simply not financially viable.
“The council, therefore, assessed the costs involved in replacing the centre with a new building altogether.
“Unfortunately, the cost of doing this could not be accommodated in the council’s latest budget proposals for the financial year 2017-18.
“The council is faced with some challenging decisions in the years ahead owing to the gradual withdrawal of government grant support to local authorities.
“It is hoped that the council may be able to re-visit this plan at some point in the future.”