Management committee and official positions were filled before the financial report was agreed and members present accepted the annual report of the centre manager Alison Paterson. Despite a number of challenges over the past year, the centre continues to operate effectively and in response to the wishes of the community. In particular the cafe and kitchen facilities continue to go from strength to strength and the events diary for the coming year is shaping up well with many of the regular events in advanced stages of preparation.
Although it was generally acknowledged that continued central government cuts to public services made life much more difficult, the meeting itself was very positive in outlook with a number of ideas coming forward to improve the way the facilities in the centre are promoted to the community.
The chairman's address to members is reproduced below in full:
Chairman’s
Address to the Annual Meeting of Blackhall Community Association
Cllr Rob Crute
Tuesday
28 June 2016
In my address to the Annual Meeting last year I referred
to the potentially harmful and irreversible impact on our communities of
ongoing cuts to local authority budgets. Unfortunately we continue to live
through difficult and uncertain times in terms of public funding cuts.
Central government cuts to public services, including those
to local council budgets, continue to have a huge and potentially devastating
impact on all aspects of community life, and buildings such as Blackhall
Community Centre are no exception.
However, despite the constant financial challenges, we
continue to move forward as a community centre and this is down to a number of
factors:
The centre manager has been as strident as ever in her
work in attracting external funding for our centre. Many applications have been
completed and many have been successful. As ever, I would like to thank Alison
for her continued hard work in keeping the centre on an even keel.
Although the county council is facing desperate and
savage cuts, with its budget slashed by £160m in the last five years alone, I
am pleased to report that along with my county council colleague Cllr Lynn
Pounder we have been able to secure £30,000 in Neighbourhood Budget funding
over the past three years to support the community centre, and in particular
the centre manager’s post. In addition we have been able to attract funding for
a number of smaller projects including the installation of computers in the bar
area for community use, and a new boiler in the kitchen. We hope to continue
this funding over coming years, although we are forced to acknowledge that continued
budget cuts forecast over coming years will pose a significant risk to funding
streams and consequently to the viability of our communities and public
facilities.
We have continued to pull together as a management
committee in facing the challenges ahead. Importantly we have listened to the
centre’s members and the people of Blackhall and surrounding villages when they
tell us what they would like to see going on in the community centre. At the
same time we have preserved a number of favourite events, including the
Classic Car Show and the Annual Flower and Vegetable Show, which Lynn and I helped
to establish alongside John Peace, and which continues to grow in regional and
even national significance.
Together, this approach has kept the centre calendar busy
over the past year and we look ahead with confidence to another full year of
activities and events.
No community centre could ever be successful without its
hard-working and dedicated staff and volunteers. In this regard our centre is
no exception. Along with my fellow members of the management board I am proud
to acknowledge the diligence of our staff and their commitment to keeping the
centre going in the right direction, often under extremely difficult
circumstances.
The excellent work of the Blackhall Drama Group has gone
from strength to strength over the past 12 months and this has contributed
significantly to the success of our community centre. The Summer Show held
recently in the hall is a fantastic example of what can be achieved by hard
work and dedication. On behalf of the management committee I thank the Drama
Group sincerely for their continued support.
Finally, I would like to thank the many members of the
community centre and the people of Blackhall and the surrounding area for their
magnificent support over the past year. Every community organisation needs the
support of its community. We are very fortunate in this area to have such loyal
and committed people in our villages to support our centre.
With a renewed sense of community spirit we as a
management committee, alongside our members and residents, will strive to ensure
that our centre remains a key part of its community and is best placed to meet
the challenges ahead.
Cllr
Rob Crute
Chairman,
Blackhall Community Centre
28 June
2016
