CALLS TO REOPEN COMMUNITY HUB
Building in need of repairs shut since February
A BUSY community centre has been closed since February – and users are demanding to know when it will reopen.
Newcastle Borough Council shut Knutton Community Centre because the building is in need of structural repairs.
But it used to host group sessions every night – from kick-boxing to Morris dancing – and its closure has left a hole in the community.
Angela Finney has served as the centre’s caretaker for more than a decade.
The 52-year-old said: “The council promised to repair the roof in 2015 – and we’re now in 2020 and it still hasn’t been done.
“I had a meeting with the council in September 2019 and they asked for a list of repairs which needed doing, that I sent. But nothing was done.
“We want them to repair the community centre, just
patch it up, so we can use it until they build a new one.
“We’ve lost three schools, one doctor’s surgery, a chemist, a clinic, a post office, a recreation centre and a bowling green in Knutton.
“Now the borough council is trying to take our community centre away.”
Ward councillor Brian Johnson raised the centre’s plight at a council meeting.
He said: “Knutton Community Centre is a vital resource to children and families in the area, and should be at the heart of a thriving community. Instead the centre has been closed since February on health and safety grounds, despite repeated reports highlighting the need for repairs to the building over many months and years.
“This is literally a case of the council failing to fix the roof while the sun was shining in previous years, which has led to Knutton residents and community groups, quite rightly, feeling angry at yet another resource in Knutton being taken away from them.”
The council has sent a letter to centre users apologising for its closure.
Councillor Jill Waring, cabinet member for leisure, said: “Further information is required concerning the extent of the repairs to Knutton Community Centre.
“Officers are progressing this, however given the financial situation the council finds itself in, no guarantee can be given over if and when these works will be completed.”