BEXLEY: Community centres still waiting for council grants (From News Shopper)

BEXLEY: Community centres still waiting for council grants

8:00am Tuesday 9th February 2010 in

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NONE of Bexley’s seven community centres has yet received its support grant from Bexley Council for this year.

And a decision is not due to be made until later this month, just weeks before the end of the financial year.

Falconwood community centre in Welling had still not received its grant from 2008 at the start of this week.

Cabinet member for community affairs, Councillor Katie Perrior defended the position at the community affairs overview and scrutiny committee last week, saying a number of centres had not yet agreed the terms of their licence with the council.

She told News Shopper: “We cannot have a situation where the council is paying them money and we have no piece of paper outlining each other’s responsibilities.”

Five of the centres share a grant of £40,000 a year between them.

But even those centres which have signed licensing agreements have still not had this year’s cash.

Cllr Perrior says the centres do not rely on the grant.

But Councillor Matthew Scott warned the meeting the St Michael’s community centre would face financial difficulties again this year and claimed volunteers were paying money out of their own pockets.

He said the centre in Wrotham Road, Welling, which is in his ward, had only received the second half of its 2008 grant at the end of last year.

He said he was concerned about the time the process was taking.

Cllr Perrior admitted it was time consuming but said only minor problems remained.

After the meeting Cllr Perrior told News Shopper licensing agreements were now a legal requirement.

She said once licences had been signed they enabled the centres to look for other sources of funding.

Cllr Perrior denied the delays had put centres in financial difficulty, saying the council had offered to pay centres’ bills in the meantime, if they were having problems.

Cllr Perrior admitted someone at St Michael’s had spent £4,000 on a projector for the centre.

She said: “It is up to the centre to decide whether it needs a projector, but we cannot have private individuals owning parts of the centre.

“Either that person will have to give it as a gift, or the centre will have to pay him back.”

Talks are due to start shortly to decide the 2010/11 grants and Cllr Perrior said she hoped the process would now catch up with itself.