2:52pm Wednesday 23rd July 2008
By Alex Hayes
USERS of a run-down community centre fear they may be forced to close the site for up to a year while improvement work is carried out.
More than £2m has been earmarked for the Hanwell Community Centre for improvements to the leaking roof and internal redecoration on the Grade 2 listed building.
Last night (on Tuesday night), councillors sitting on the cabinet, the decision-making arm of Ealing Council, agreed a programme of works prioritising what should be done first.
However, one of the options preferred by the council is to totally close the site for ten months from January 2009 to get all the work done in one go.
It was also claimed by council leader Jason Stacey that if work is not done the centre could be a breeding ground for the deadly legionella bacteria or carbon monoxide poisoning, because of the antiquated ventilation and heating systems in the building.
Councillor Harvey Rose, the leader of the Lib Dem group, questioned Cllr Stacey on the amount of consultation for the project with users.
He said: “The council has said the preferred option is to close the centre for a year.
“However, there is a problem that many activities there, such as upholstering and judo, need substantial space and to leave equipment in the rooms.
“If the centre is closed the council will need to find suitable accommodation for them – and there is a fear that once the centre reopens these groups might not come back.”
Councillor Jason Stacey, the leader of the council, said: “We are between a rock and a hard place. This is a building which has not been touched for decades.
“The centre is safe at the moment but the main problems are replacing the roof, issues with asbestos in some parts of the building and we have been warned about things like legionella and carbon monoxide.
“We will get officers to get quotes for different options, including doing the job in one go, and staggering the work so the centre can remain open.
“However, staggering the work will be more expensive and the money will be taken from the same pot, so centre management will have to think about that before deciding what they want.”
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