Four community centres to face axe as councillors vote

Published on Wednesday 12 May 2010 09:42

TWO under-threat community centres in the Capital could be saved, it was revealed today – but four others are set to close.

Education bosses are asking councillors to vote to close community centres at Longstone and Sighthill, as well as the Platform Adult Learning Centre in Wester Hailes and The Number Shop on the Pleasance.

But after talks with the management committees of the Colinton Mains Centre and Gorgie Memorial Hall, education chiefs have now put closure plans for these two on ice.

The original plans to close six community centres to save 120,000 were revealed earlier this year and sparked outrage from the services' users.

Almost 1,000 people signed a petition to save Colinton Mains and Peggy Wright, secretary of its management committee, has welcomed the reprieve.

She told a meeting of the full council last month that the centre has been charged thousands by the city council for work which she said has not been done, including 1,768 for roof leaks and 1,625 for blocked drains.

The management committee is still trying to iron out the financial discrepancies with the council and these are forming part of talks over the centre's future.

Mrs Wright said: "The management committee will be relieved to learn from this report that we no longer have the threat of closure hanging over us."

Jason Rust, Tory councillor for Colinton and Fairmilehead, who launched the community centre petition, added: "I would be delighted if the hard work pays off and the centre is given a reprieve, but we still await the outcome of the audit by the council given the serious discrepancies uncovered in the various sets of accounts produced."

Campaigners have also been out in force to try to save the other threatened community centres, with 3,000 signatures collected in support of saving Gorgie Memorial Hall, the only other centre given a reprieve.

However, members of the education committee will be asked on Tuesday to vote to close the other four centres and move their services elsewhere, which will be a bitter blow to many.

Tony Paton, former user of the services provided by The Number Shop, said closing its Pleasance base and moving the programme to the South Bridge Resource Centre will be "detrimental" to learners.

A city council spokeswoman said: "Both Gorgie War Memorial and Colinton Mains are looking at ways that they could contribute to running costs while the after-school club at Longstone will remain in the current building and the youth groups will relocate to the primary school. Sighthill and Platform will be relocating to the new integrated learning hub at Westburn."