Kintbury's Jubilee Centre to close due to West Berkshire Council cuts

Building an "important part of the community" for 35 years

FOR 35 years it has been a vibrant part of community life, but Kintbury’s Jubilee Centre is set to close at the end of March – and the parish council is blaming West Berkshire Council’s cuts as the reason.

The centre was built with funds raised during the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in 1977 and was opened in 1981 by the late Sir Gordon Richards, a long-term resident of the village.

But its 35th anniversary year could be its last after the district council announced plans to cut its £9,000-a-year subsidy towards its running costs from April as part of its plan to save up to £18.9m in the next financial year.

Even if the district council has a last-minute change of heart, the centre is unlikely to remain open in the short-term.

Parkwood Leisure, appointed by the council to manage the centre, has hinted it would not renew the contract, meaning the parish council could be left with an annual bill of £22,000, which it can’t afford.

The total cost of keeping the centre open is £40,000 a year.

Kintbury Parish Council chairman, Stephen Cook, said the potential closure of the centre – which offers users an eight-station gym, tennis court and crèche – would be a “sad loss to the community”.

He added: “We very much regret that we have had to reach this conclusion, but the financial situation is such that we cannot justify a subsidy of this size given all the other calls on our finances, caused by reductions in service by the district council.

“There’s still a chance that the phoenix will rise from the ashes, but we’ve pretty much been told by the district council we won’t be getting the grant next year.

“It’s not necessarily the end for the centre. We hope someone will come in and take it on, but it will almost certainly have to close for a period of time.

“How long that is, I don’t know.

“The worst-case scenario is it gets demolished and goes back to being a children’s playground, but we are a long way off that happening.

“The centre has played an important part in Kintbury, serving young and old, for 35 years and it will be a sad loss to the community.

“We are grateful to Parkwood Leisure for the way in which they have managed the centre for the last six years and for their own financial subsidy of the centre over that time, as well as to the users, staff and volunteers who have been involved in the centre since 1981.”

The parish council and Parkwood Leisure released a joint statement saying it was likely to close “within weeks”.

The statement added: “The withdrawal of £9,000 of funding by West Berkshire Council means that the parish council will have to pick up the remaining sum.

“At this time the parish council does not think that it can sustain a contribution of circa £22,000 for the next financial year and Parkwood Leisure is unable to generate any additional income from the village- focussed venue.”

Paul Nangle, assistant regional director of Parkwood Leisure, said: “We are sorry that the financial situation caused by ever-tightening budgets of local authorities due to austerity measures has forced this closure on Parkwood, the trustees and local community that we serve.”

Cliff Verrall set up a youth badminton club three years ago and says he doesn’t know where they will go when the centre closes.

He said: “I am very sad, particularly for the kids. We have eight kids in the club, two of them joined last week, and we have no idea where we will go.

“There is Hungerford but I’m not sure whether they will travel out of Kintbury to play there.

“I only got told on Tuesday night that the centre will close in March. Our season doesn’t finish until May so we now have to try and reschedule our remaining games and find somewhere else to play.”