Campaigners fighting a rent increase at a Sherwood community centre which would see its bill rising by tens of thousands say the uncertainty is making it harder to recover from covid. The Place Activity Centre has been used as a venue by community groups, local MPs and neighbourhood watch meetings since it started operating in 1997.
The centre has been paying a peppercorn rent of £10 a year to the building's owner, Nottingham City Council, since that time. But staff at the centre were informed in 2020 that its rent would be increased to a commercial level of £12,000, eventually going up to £20,000 within four years.
But a meeting was then held where Nottingham City Council leader David Mellen said the centre could submit an application for reduced rent. But Councillor Mellen said the centre would have to prove it was delivering "quantifiable community benefits."
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Those running the centre now say they are working through paperwork sent by the city council, but are still insisting that the council's originally proposed new rent cannot be paid. A petition was presented at a council meeting on Monday, January 9, expressing the centre's concerns around the rent rise.
Some campaigners were also protesting outside the Council House ahead of the meeting including Peter Churchill, 66, who has been leading the Save the Place campaign. He said: "The rent rise that was being planned by the council is one which we could just not afford. It would have closed us down.
"It's a vital centre that provides the community with so many activities and groups for their physical and mental wellbeing. I attend the weekly art group and that is something that is so good for me and I know that for some of the people there, it can be the only time they get out of the house.
"We were doing really well before covid and obviously the pandemic really reduced our footfall, but this uncertainty we're in is now making it difficult to recover. We don't know why it's needed either because all it costs them is the occasional repair to the building's roof.
"There is obviously the procedure now being followed about demonstrating our social value, but that has got to be social value in pounds, shillings and pence which is quite hard to do. I'm not sure if the council quite knows what it is looking for and I think we're being used as a bit of a prototype on this."
Rosemary Wells, 76, said: "In a city like Nottingham it is important to have a good offering in terms of art and The Place is not just a community centre, it really is a place that improves Nottingham's art scene. We have so many people using the centre for artwork and eventually some of what we started has grown into Sherwood Art Week, which is an amazing event where people get to exhibit the work they have created."
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: "We are endeavouring to be as supportive as possible to help representatives at The Place. We met with them shortly before Christmas and confirmed the rent will be held at the existing nominal level until the option of an asset transfer has been fully explored. The first part of that process is for the organisation to complete an expression of interest form which provides all the key information we need to get things moving.
"We have provided them with that form, together with a copy of the council’s draft community asset transfer policy, but have yet to receive the completed form back from them. We also advised them about the approach the council will be looking to adopt towards potentially offering reduced rents in consideration of the social benefits that are to be delivered."
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