Wells Hall Old School Public Consultation Meeting

							    Wells Hall Old School (WHOS) Public Consultation Meeting
        Discussion with General Public and Interested Parties about the future of WHOS

       Wednesday 11 May 2011 - 6.30pm to 7.30pm at WHOS



Attendees
Chris Springthorpe CS, Keith Jennings KJ and Maggie Peck, MP



Welcome
CS welcomed everyone to the meeting.

CS introduced KJ (Head of Profession - Youth Service), MP (Property) and himself (Youth Partnership
& Resources Officer).

CS confirmed the Purpose of the meeting was to discuss divestment of the WHOS premises to the
public.



Divestment Discussion
KJ started off by discussing divestment and explaining what that means.

This is happening globally and SCC must cut their budget. Last year the SCC CYP budget was £2 - £3
million. This year SCC CYP expenditure is forecast to be £10 - £11 million and SCC have to find a way
to reduce this overspend so cuts have to be made.

The comprehensive review from central government has cut SCC overall budget by 13 %. Accordingly
Youth and Connexions have lost 30% of its budget and will lose 30% of its staff.

All open access youth clubs will close; a colour coded system has been put into place for the closure of
the youth clubs. WHOS is Amber which means it should close next year but due to the attendance
numbers being low it has been decided to close at the end of this summer term; at that point there
would be no open access youth provision at WHOS.

Interruption from Maureen Nandi (Member of Public) stating: There has been no open access youth
club at WHOS for the last 3 years.

Shiona Oglesby (SCC Youth Officer) replied: An open access youth club has been up and running for
the last two terms at WHOS.

MP – SCC are in a consultation period with all interested parties at the moment; we are sure you all
know about the potential closure of libraries and other services. MP carried on to stress that although
the services are closing at WHOS, the premises are not: We realise there are community groups which
use these premises; therefore it would be good if the community could take over the running costs
which includes heating / lighting etc.
                    st
Stewart Sheridan (1 Great Cornard Scouts) clarified – SCC are saying that SCC are closing the open
access youth provision here, but we can still use the building?

MP – The answer to that is yes if the community take over the running costs.
                    st
Stewart Sheridan (1 Great Cornard Scouts) replied – That is a big ask!

MP replied – Yes it is, that is why SCC would offer WHOS rent free: By this SCC mean if a community
group takes on these premises, SCC will still pay for the maintenance and building insurance (but not
Contents Insurance). The maintenance cover will be for minor repairs (eg if the roof is leaking SCC will
patch it up). After an interim period of 3 years if the community do not wish to carry on, then SCC
would put the site up for sale. If the community would like to carry on, then SCC would consider giving
over the freehold free of charge: The community group would then take on full responsibility for
everything.

If a parish council group were to take over the running of these premises then SCC would contribute to
the running costs.
                    st
Stewart Sheridan (1 Great Cornard Scouts) asked – Do the fees currently received from users cover
the running costs?

CS replied – No, the amount the users currently pay (which is just over £5.00 per session) does not
cover the running costs.
                                      nd
Stephanie Shedden (WHOS user - 2 Great Cornard Brownies) advised - We would not have objected
to paying more per session to help meet the running costs.

Tony Bavington (Great Cornard Parish and Babergh District Councillor) stated – Great Cornard Parish
Council have been trying to find out more information about these premises from SCC.

CS replied – The information is on SCC website and he thought that the information had already been
sent out to all the councillors.

Steve Farrell (Member of Public) – What is the time frame for this consultation process - is it the rest of
the year?

CS replied – Yes.

Margaret Snow (Great Cornard Guides and WHOS user - Hopalong Club) asked - What date will these
premises close?

CS – There is no set date for closure of WHOS yet.
                    st
Stewart Sheridan (1 Great Cornard Scouts) asked – Since the facts and figures of the running costs
are not available at this meeting can you send out the running cost figures?

KJ replied – These can be emailed to you if you leave your email address with us.

Michael Matthews (User – Sudbury ANd District Radio Amateurs) enquired – He had heard that WHOS
running costs are about £39,000.00 per year. This enquiry was not answered by SCC.

Kim Edwards (User – Sudbury ANd District Radio Amateurs) stated that in his home village of Ashen
(near Clare with 105 houses) they have their own Village Hall which is run by the community. It is run
as a charity and as such we do get assistance via funding and grants (Parish Council, Lottery etc).
They charge £15.00 per hour which includes insurance. The village hall works really well and the
community is firmly behind the project.

MP – SCC recognise there are benefits for community groups which become charities: Mr Edwards is
quite right there are grants/funding out there.

CS – If a community group is interested in running these premises then they will have a freehand to
have as many users or run as many different services from the building as they like.

Shiona Oglesby (SCC Youth Officer) asked – Do SCC intend for the whole WHOS site to be divested?

CS answered – SCC intend to divest all the buildings, hard-standings and gardens; the whole site.

Lorna Athey (SCC Youth Worker) asked – As SCC has only charged users just over £5.00 per session
and this had not met the running costs, had SCC subsidised the remaining costs?
CS replied – In the past SCC could keep the costs down for the users as they also had a purpose (open
access youth club) for the building. He went on to note that SCC have no legal obligation to keep
WHOS going for the community.
                     st
Stewart Sheridan (1 Great Cornard Scouts) stated – As council tax payers the Great Cornard
community is already paying for this building. If SCC are not going to continue to provide WHOS that it
is one big cop out!

CS replied – SCC must find a way forward with the local community on this issue. The status quo
cannot be maintained. Perhaps we can meet another time to go over the running costs of this building
and the divestment time frame.

Tony Bavington (Great Cornard Parish and Babergh District Councillor) stated – Great Cornard Parish
Council would be happy to assist SCC by organising further consultations with all interested parties
about the future of WHOS.

Shiona Oglesby (SCC Youth Officer) asked – Can we email the running costs to all interested parties to
save time?

MP replied – Yes that would be good.

CS replied – As we said before we will make sure we have all the details, time frame etc and get Great
Cornard Parish Council to arrange the next meeting and to let the whole community know.

Mick Cornish (Great Cornard Parish) stated – Yes, Great Cornard Parish Council will arrange a meeting
which would be held at the Stevenson Centre.

Maureen Nandi (Member of Public) asked – What about the house next door which is connected to
WHOS and also used by SCC? She recalled someone had said there was preservation order on the
house or WHOS site but according to Babergh District Council there is no preservation order on the
WHOS site or the house. This enquiry was not answered by SCC.

Chris Ryall (Great Cornard Upper School) asked – You say the open access youth provision is going;
but what about Edens and The Hub.

Shiona Oglesby (SCC Youth Officer) replied – Edens and The Hub are different as they voluntary
organisations which are not part of SCC.

Shiona Oglesby (SCC Youth Officer) advised – SCC CYP is going through reorganisation as we speak.
There will be youth provision in this area but it will be different as it will be targeted at key groups and
more 1-2-1.

Steve Farrell (Member of Public) – SCC have said WHOS will be sold if no one takes over the running
of the building; will there be any vetting of the buyer or the purpose for which the site is bought? I am
concerned about this as I live next door; also it will be a shame to see it go as it is a focal point of this
community.

Maureen Nandi (Member of Public) stated – Last time SCC were going to sell the site it was offered at
£750,000

MP replied – In answer to Steve’s question, SCC would seek to achieve the best return (payable price)
on the site and any redevelopment would be subject to planning approval.

CS advised – WHOS will remain available to users until the end of this summer term.

Margaret Snow (Great Cornard Guides and WHOS user - Hopalong Club) asked – So when will WHOS
become unavailable to users, as you previously stated there is no closure date, but now you are saying
that WHOS will only remain available to users until the end of this summer term?

KJ replied – SCC will investigate this and inform all users.
Shiona Oglesby (SCC Youth Officer) asked - Since WHOS has been given Amber status it shouldn’t
close until next year - could SCC make WHOS remain available to users until Christmas this year to
give them more time to make alternative arrangements?

CS and KJ replied – SCC will investigate this inform all users.

CS advised – WHOS caretaking and cleaning staff positions are secure for the time being.

Margaret Snow (Great Cornard Guides and WHOS user - Hopalong Club) asked – If caretaking and
cleaning is ongoing why can’t WHOS remain available to users whilst caretaking and cleaning is
ongoing? SCC need to give clarity on end of WHOS availability to users.

CS and KJ replied – SCC will investigate this and inform all users.

Chris Ryall (Great Cornard Upper School) asked – How can interested parties find out more about the
bookings process and booking forms?

CS replied – Contact Jackie Dew at WHOS who can answer your questions or direct you appropriately.
                    st
Stewart Sheridan (1 Great Cornard Scouts) stated – Since WHOS was built as a school, are there any
restrictive covenants in the deeds to limit future uses of the site?

MP replied – SCC cannot definitively answer that question now, but there might be.

Maureen Nandi (Member of Public) stated – There is a plaque on the front hall stating “Centre of
Community” so this might indicate that a restrictive covenant is in place.

User – Sudbury ANd District Radio Amateurs stated – We are a small group and could not afford to
take WHOS on.

CS replied – This is why SCC is entering into this consultation process to allow users to group together
and potentially take WHOS on as a community joint venture.

Tony Bavington (Great Cornard Parish and Babergh District Councillor) stated – Great Cornard Parish
Council might well be interested in joining any potential community joint venture.

CS closed the meeting by thanking everyone for attending and contributing to the discussion.

CS apologised that not all information had been available and that it would be forwarded to all
attendees ASAP.

CS noted that Great Cornard Parish Council would organise the next consultation meeting and would
advise all interested parties and the wider community of the date, time and location and confirmed that
minutes of tonight’s meeting will be distributed to all attendees.

Post meeting addendum:
Next consultation meeting 7 June 2011 at Stevenson Centre, Great Cornard, 1930 hrs.


Action required:
CS to provide link for WHOS information on SCC website

CS/KJ to clarify consultation timeframe.

CS/KJ to clarify when WHOS will no longer available to users.

JD to add list of attendees and contact details to Minutes of Meeting.

Great Cornard Parish Council to advise all interested parties and the wider community of the date, time
and location of the next consultation meeting.