PEOPLE in Hanwell are looking to take over the running of the town's community centre.

A group called Hanwell Community Centre Consortium (HCCC) is setting up a charitable company limited by guarantee, which means it would report to both Companies House and the Charity Commission.

HCCC is now calling for nominations to form its board of directors.

Ealing Council is looking at alternatives to managing the centre in-house and it intends to put the management of the building, its space and sports and leisure services out to tender.

The borough says the centre must operate without council funding. It intends to hand over management this summer.

Discussions with potential partners have already begun and the council held a meeting with users of the centre in March.

It is looking at either working with a community-based group or with a commercial concern, such as Carillion, which already runs library services across the borough.

“We want to ensure the centre is run in line with a vision and objectives agreed by the community, to the benefit of the community and current service users,” says Nigel Clarke, one of the consortium leaders, who is on the management committee of Hanwell Big Local, a £1m Lottery-funded charity based at the centre.

“HCCC is calling for people who have an interest in the centre in terms of using its space, or valuing its history and heritage, and who are able to commit time to championing its future.

The centre in Westcott Crescent is recognised as an important heritage asset for both Hanwell and the borough.

The building is Grade II listed and Cuckoo Park, which surrounds it, was successfully registered as a town or village green in 1994. Originally built as a Poor Law School in 1856, and known as the Cuckoo Schools, the building was home to a six-year-old Charlie Chaplin and his brother Sydney in the late 1800s.

There is an archive of photographs recording the activities of the school in training poor children in trades and life skills, to give them a better future in Victorian and early 20th Century Britain.

“We are looking for people connected to Hanwell or the centre who would like to drive it towards becoming a vibrant, inclusive, welcoming and sustainable community-led social enterprise at the heart of the community,” said Carolyn Brown, chair of Hanwell Community Forum, a member of the consortium.

Nomination forms are available to complete online or download from www.hanwellbiglocal.org.uk and can be requested and returned by email from hbladmin@empowering-action.org.uk You can also request a nomination form by phoning or texting your contact details to Carolyn Brown on 07774 235 284 or Dominique Morgan on 07831 117 294.

The deadline for receipt of nomination forms is Friday, May 8.

The inaugural meeting of HCCC will take place at the centre on Wednesday, May 13, and the election of directors to the board from nominations received will take place then.