A Workington community centre has received £30,000 to fund a new role.
Northside Community Centre was awarded the cash from Allerdale GDF Community Partnership to fund a finance and administrative post.
But the centre, which has been running for over 20 years on the Workington estate, is having trouble in being paid for the rent of a room for four months in 2021.
The delight in receiving the grant has been tempered by the frustration they have experienced in not being paid for the use of their room in 2021.
Acting secretary Celia Tibble said: “The support from Allerdale GDF Community Partnership is most welcome and it will support the part-time appointment of a finance and administration manager, initially for two years.
“But the non-payment – it amounts to £1,440 which is a lot of money to a small group like ourselves – has been very frustrating.
“We had a call last month from North West Probation Service asking to hire the room again and we had to point out that the room charges from their last use had not been paid.
“They used the room twice a week in April, May, June and July 2021 which at £360 per month is a total of £1,440.
“The invoices were issued to Cumbria & Lancashire Community Rehabilitation Company. There is also a reference to Sodexo – C&L CRC (Sodexo) with an address in Preston.
“There are some firms called Sodexo on Companies House but not in Preston or to do with probation. There has been a suggestion they may have gone into liquidation.
“When the Probation Service asked about rehiring and were told about the non-payment we were told they would escalate their investigations but we are still waiting to hear back.
“Obviously the community centre runs on a shoestring, providing a small community shop, Fareshare and other services to the community and room bookings like this are a very good source of income, as most of our grants are for specific projects such as food pantry, warmth hub, so unrestricted funds like our room rental help us pay for the upkeep of the centre.
“As a small community centre we struggled during the pandemic, whilst we increased our support to the community by providing food parcels and a free food pantry we lost income as the groups who used the centre were unable to meet and therefore our income fell dramatically.
“As a result, we had to make the centre manager redundant. Since that time we have run on the goodwill of volunteers.
“We hope that this initial funding will help us attract a manager who can help us increase the use of the centre and ensure we continue to support the local community, especially at this time of need.”
The small community shop is invaluable to those without transport as there are currently no bus services to the estate.
The centre runs a Fareshare food pantry, where those who need it can get food which would have gone to waste for a donation of whatever they can afford.
Local agencies use the centre to provide information , such as the Council, Age UK and PCSOs drop in.
Mary Bradley, chair of Allerdale GDF Community Partnership, said: “Northside Community Centre is an important asset to the community and the partnership are thrilled to support the recruitment of a part-time manager awarding £30,000 in community investment funding.
“This will allow the centre to continue delivering local services and increase the fantastic offering.”
Cumbria Crack contacted Sodexo yesterday and a spokesman told us: “Unfortunately these were not paid due to an administrative error. We will be arranging payment as a matter of urgency.”
