A meeting of Ruddington Parish Council has agreed a plan which could involve closing and selling off our Village Hall to help fund the purchase of the former Young People’s Centre on The Green.
In April, we reported that continuing vandalism to the disused Youth & Community building had prompted owners Nottinghamshire County Council to take some decisive action over the empty premises. It released a statement which read: “After the recent damage to the centre the building has been secured and boarded up. Some further inspections are taking place following the vandalism, but if the outcome of these is satisfactory we are intending to negotiate with the Parish Council to purchase the property.” At the time this came as both a surprise and a disappointment to a group of local residents who had come together to propose leasing the site as a community hub called ‘The Green Space’ from the County Council.
The building has been empty since December 2016 when ‘The Body Centre’ ran into financial difficulties and was forced to close. Previously it had been Ruddington’s dedicated youth facility but was leased out by the County Council to fitness firm Project Body UK in 2014 (for a planned ten year period) due to government spending cuts. In summer 2016 the conditional youth provision was reintroduced there for three days per week – and several community organisations and groups were again using the facilities on a weekly basis. But since the company’s closure the building has lain dark and disused and been targeted by vandals, leading to it being boarded up.
At Tuesday’s Parish Council meeting (25th September) Councillors agreed to start a course of action which they hope will “culminate in a new community facility in the centre of the village”. It seems aspects such as funding and what facilities will be incorporated have not yet been decided. They say the possibility of selling Parish Council assets or land, to fund the project – such as the existing Village Hall – have not been ruled out at this stage. But Councillors are said to be keen to reassure residents and hirers that the Village Hall will remain available if a decision to replace it is made – at least until a replacement is up and running.
It’s three years since the historic building – dating from 1912 – was last threatened with closure and demolition. At that time a brand NEW building was proposed by RPC to replace it on our Green Belt alongside Wilford Road – to be built using cash from the sell-off of Sellors’ Playing Field and the old village hall to housing developers. After protests from residents and groups such as Protect Ruddington and the Ruddington Community Association (RCA) those plans were subsequently shelved.
Parish Council Chairman, Allen Wood, stated: “We are making history, following in the footsteps of our predecessors in the early 1900’s when they built the Village Hall for the enjoyment of the Parishioners. We need to look to the future as they did and plan for the future generations of Ruddington.”
However a spokesperson for RCA told us: “We welcome the commitment of the current Parish Councillors to look to the future and a new asset at the centre of the village. We are concerned that the PC has not ruled out selling other assets. We hope Sellors’ Playing Field and our other local green spaces and sports fields are safe. We are concerned that the sale of the Village Hall seems to be talked about and would hope the current or a future PC would commit to not selling the Village Hall.”
A small group of Parish Councillors is now set to meet with representatives of Nottinghamshire County Council with a view to progressing talks between the two organisations. Of course, RUDDINGTON.info will keep you posted on further developments.
