Equalities minister's Big Society "model" faces closure 3

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 24 Feb 2011

A community centre lauded by the equalities minister as an “amazing model” of Big Society in action is at risk of closure due to public spending cuts.

Haringey Council has taken a decision “in principle” to terminate a £163,000 annual grant to the Selby Centre in north London.

The council says it has concerns about the centre’s viability and said a final decision on the grant funding will be made after a full audit of the Selby Trust, which runs the Selby Centre.

The Selby Centre (pictured) provides facilities for more than 100 social enterprises and runs community services. Equalities minister Lynne Featherstone said after a recent visit that the centre was “an amazing model” of Big Society in action.

Sona Mahtani, Selby Trust chief executive, said the centre was around 70 per cent self-sufficient, generating income through affordable rents paid by organisations using its facilities. But it did depend on the council’s grant, which covers the overall rent. She said: “The circular grant is a paper exchange but without it, this so-called Big Society model at the Selby Centre that has taken 22 years to build up will be lost.”

It is the second example this week of a community centre, which has been praised by those close to government, facing closure.

The Surma Centre, which has been hailed by Samantha Cameron as a "perfect example" of the Big Society, has lost its £125,000 annual grant from Camden Council.

The Evening Standard reported that campaigners fighting to keep the Surma Centre open plan to lobby Mrs Cameron.

The Prime Minister's wife visited the Surma Centre before the general election, when she described it as a perfect example of social action.

Place a comment

John
25 Feb 2011

It is surely no coincidence that two Labour controlled authorities are withdrawing funding from organisations which demonstrate the Big Society. Just goes to show how organisations need to get out of political control and alternative funding approaches are needed.

[Reply]

Minna Alanko
Executive Assistant
LCVS | United Way
25 Feb 2011

Non-profits should aim for maximum self suffiency, obviously, but buildings like that should be rent free for them. That's Big Society if anything.

[Reply]

Bob
24 Feb 2011

Seems that "perfect" (Sam Cam) just isn't enough nowadays !!

[Reply]

Comments

[Cancel] | Reply to:

Name *

Email *

Organisation

Job Title

Comments *

Verification *

* Please read our Community Standards

Close »

Community Standards

The civilsociety.co.uk community and comments board is intended as a platform for informed and civilised debate.

We hope to encourage a broad range of views, however, there are standards that we expect commentators to uphold. We reserve the right to delete or amend any comments that do not adhere to these standards.

We welcome:

Robust but respectful debate
Strongly held opinions
Intelligent relevant discussion
The sharing of relevant experiences
New participants

We will not publish:

Rude, threatening, offensive, obscene or abusive language, or links to such material
Links to commercial organisations or spam postings. The comments board is not an advertising platform
The posting of contact details for yourself or others
Comments intended for malicious purpose or mindless abuse
Comments purporting to be from another person or organisation under false pretences
Gratuitous criticism, commentary or self-promotion
Any material which breaches copyright or privacy laws, or could be considered libellous
The use of the comments board for the pursuit or extension of personal disputes

Be aware:

Views expressed on the comments board are left at users’ discretion and are in no way views held or supported by Civil Society Media
Comments left by others may not be accurate, do not rely on them as fact
You may be misunderstood - sarcasm and humour can easily be taken out of context, try to be clear

Please:

Enjoy the opportunity to express your opinion and respect the right of others to express theirs
Confine your remarks to issues rather than personalities

Together we can keep our community a polite, respectful and intelligent platform for discussion.