Minutes:
Mr Andre Wheeler, a resident in Barwell, asked the Chairman the following question under Standing Order 35:-
“1. Why has the Steering Committee of George
Ward Community Centre project not sought charitable status?
2. Will any member of the Steering Committee
be paid an allowance when the Centre is operational?
3. As there appears to be no finalised
business plan and no details of income, could I be advised of how many local Barwell groups have expressed an interest in using the
Centre?
4.
Will any short-fall in funding be met by the
County Council now and in the future, or will the County Council expect the Barwell Parish tax payers to pay?
5.
Why have the County Council decided to start
this project without a robust Financial Business Plan in place as the Leader of
the Council indicated that this would not happen in a letter to me dated of
The Chairman replied as follows:-
“1. The charity commission is in the process
of establishing the new status of Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO),
which should remove the need for joint registration as a charity (for
charitable purposes) and as a company limited by guarantee (to protect trustees
financially). The Committee has deliberately held back in order to try and
become a CIO as this will save both money and time. However the date for the
introduction of CIO status keeps slipping and therefore the Committee has
agreed that they will seek charitable status (in whatever form is available and
appropriate) 3 months prior to completion of the building subject to; legal
advice, financial advice and board approval.
2.
No. The only payments made to members of the
Steering Committee will cover expenses incurred on behalf of the project.
Staff, including Centre Managers, will be recruited via an open and independent
recruitment process. The only other situation in which Steering Committee
members could be paid an “allowance” would be in the exceptional circumstance
of a Committee member providing holiday cover for a paid member of staff.
3. A draft Business Plan has now been produced for the Community Centre which sets out anticipated income and expenditure. The income includes usage income figures based on figures from similar facilities in the County and on the needs analysis conducted by the Committee last year. These estimates are conservative - initial income is based on a utilisation little in excess of 35%, rising by 10% year on year for years 2, 3 and 4. The maximum occupancy level accepted for this type of building is 70%.
Although it is hoped that some local groups will use the Community Facility as a base for their meetings/activities, it has become clear that much of the income will be derived from service providers using the building to deliver essential services to the community, for example adult learning, job search support, training and services to support young people.
The Committee has been conscious
from the beginning of the need to minimise the impact on existing facilities in
Barwell by attracting new users to the facility and
not taking them away from existing buildings such as the Village and Church
Halls. There are a number of individuals and groups who have expressed an
interest in setting up new groups and classes.
4. The County Council has invested considerable time and money in making sure that the Centre will become sustainable after a reasonable period of time. In projects such as this the County Council would usually be working closely with the local Parish Council to look at ways of maximising the income to the facility (including from all tiers of local government). I understand that in the case of the Barwell Community Facility, both the County and Borough Councils are actively supporting the Committee but there has been no support from the local Parish Council, despite the fact that the vast majority of local people support the project and are looking forward to it opening next year.
The County Council
will continue to support the facility and ensure that it meets the needs of the
Barwell tax payer and is a thriving and vibrant
Community Centre.
5. Staff from the County Council have been working alongside the Committee to develop the Business Plan and the County Council has paid for consultancy support to assist the group in making the Business Plan as robust as possible. In recognition of the fact that the Community Centre will, as is usual with this type of building, take time to build up its user and client base, the Council has sought additional external funding for the build which will enable some of the interest earned on the capital since 2004 (when The Cedars was sold) to be used to meet the initial shortfall until the end of Year 2 when the Centre should start to break even. The Business Plan, as stated previously, is based on conservative estimates of income and worse case scenarios in terms of many of the expenditure items.
The decision to start on site took into account the fact that a draft Business Plan is now available (and has been made available to the Parish Council) and that this presents a realistic projection of the income and expenditure for the community centre. In addition, each quarter we delay the start on site sees the cost of the project increase which will affect the long term viability of the project.”
Mr. Wheeler asked the following
supplementary question:-
“Will the full financial needs of the Centre come solely from the tax payer for
four years?”
The Chairman replied that he would ensure that Mr. Wheeler was provided with a written response to his supplementary question.