Craven Arms centre transfer wins backing from public

Members of the public have voted overwhelmingly in favour of South Shropshire Furniture Scheme taking charge of the community centre in Craven Arms.

Almost 60 people met last night to decide on whether South Shropshire Furniture Scheme should take over the management of the Newington Way Centre.

Current trustees have been battling to keep the centre afloat during the last few years after it hit financial problems. Chairman of the trustees Matt Smith said allowing SSFS to take over would secure a valuable asset.

Mr Smith told the meeting the three remaining trustees had fought hard to ensure the centre remained open but now was the time for change.

He said: "We have been facing difficulties since November 2010. We are currently ahead of our budget but one bad month could put us in serious trouble.

"It has been a stressful few years for the trustees who have been exposed to significant personal risk if the centre got into trouble.

"The staff at the centre have been amazing and I cannot thank them enough for their hard work. They are doing far more hours than they should and it's not sustainable.

"We believe the best option would now be to transfer our responsibility over to the SSFS who have experience in managing other community centres like the Rockspring Centre in Ludlow," he added.

"They will be able to bring in the management necessary to run our centre which is something we can't provide. Therefore the community centre trustees believe the best option available is to consider the transfer of responsibilities to the SSFS."

When the trustees called a public vote on whether people were willing to let SSFS manage the centre the result was 54 votes to zero in fav- our of the trustee proposals.

Residents gave a rousing round of applause to the trustees and thanked them for effectively steering the community centre through a turbulent period.

The trust will now be wound up with its responsibilities for the centre's lease, non-fixed assets and staff contracts passing over to the SSFS.

If all goes to plan SSFS chiefs should begin management of the centre during the next couple of months.