Future of Alington House still in doubt
1:30pm Monday 30th June 2008
THE future of a cash-strapped community centre remains in doubt, despite a vote to close the building at the end of the year.
Members of Alington House community association agreed to close the building, in North Bailey, Durham, from December 31, during an annual general meeting held on Thursday night last week.
However, the meeting also saw three new directors appointed and hope remains the centre will stay open.
Alington House is used just six per cent of the time and needs up to £600,000-worth of repairs.
The new directors, Patty O'Boyle, Jeffrey Rackham and Tony Curtis, declined to comment on their future plans.
Giles Radford, who along with Derek Corner and Donald McKay resigned as a director on Thursday, said: "The future's going to be very difficult. There's very little chance of getting grants next year."
The long-term survival of Alington House, a community centre since 1948, has been in doubt since last summer, when it was revealed the association was short of volunteers and struggling to cover costs.
Last week, Durham City MP Roberta Blackman-Woods called a meeting of potential funding organisations, including English Heritage, The Big Lottery Fund, the County Durham Foundation, Durham City Council and Durham County Council.
Mr Radford said only English Heritage offered "significant" funding, and only to repair a part of the Durham city wall owned by Alington House, not the building itself.
He added Alington House was likely to break even this year, but only because Durham City Council gave grants worth £5,000 and Durham County Council has contributed £3,500.
One of the new directors' first challenges will be finding between £20,000 and £25,000 to pay for urgent fire safety improvements.
Fire officer Steve Cummins, who wrote a damning assessment of the building's safety in May, could close it as early as August if an alarm, smoke detectors, emergency lighting and fire-proof doors are not installed.
The financial troubles of the building have cost it business. Several groups which formerly used Alington House have moved their meetings elsewhere. Recently, a ballroom dancing group left.
The community association's new directors are expected to make a statement on the building's future soon.