To bring everyone up to date, despite our petition and letters of complaint being submitted by community members, EDC’s proposals for Lenzie Public Hall were sadly passed unamended at the Council meeting on 6 March.
Lenzie Public Hall is no longer to be refurbished.
EDC are no longer to lease the hall to LEAP.
The hall has been declared surplus to operational requirements.
Offers are to be sought for its sale/transfer/lease to interested third parties for the provision of community facilities.
This was upsetting to hear, especially knowing how much time, hard work and effort went into what had been agreed by members of the community, LEAP Ltd and also EDC themselves.
The project, as agreed, would have brought Lenzie Public Hall back as:
“an inclusive and welcoming hub for everyone to enjoy”
“a vibrant and sustainable community asset”.
Our vision
It would also have brought many currently unavailable (and invaluable) benefits and services to Lenzie.
LEAP would have been an asset to have in Lenzie, who we very much looking forward to welcoming to Lenzie and working with.
On a positive … why we should be proud of ourselves!
The community’s response to the petition was absolutely phenomenal! In total, in a short time and, in reality, without too much campaigning 1,024 people signed the petition, showing they valued the hall and supported the petition’s calls. These were for East Dunbartonshire Council to:
– keep the hall in its 10-year Investment Plan
– relook at the costs needed to renovate it – can cost savings be made elsewhere to accommodate its refurbishment?
– make good on the commitment to renovate the building so that LEAP could start to bring services to the community and a joyful, growing, focal point back to Lenzie.
It didn’t worked this time (the odds, process and time were all against us) but what the petition and all recent letters to EDC have shown to all decision makers is that the community cares about the hall, would very much like it back in use and when it wants and needs to, it can work together to pull things off.
What’s happening now?
Whilst the proposals were passed, “it was highlighted at the meeting … that the three local Councillors and the council in general want the hall to be retained as public space and that any community group who wanted to attempt to take it on would be supported“.
Recently contractors and EDC employees have been seen going into the hall.
Our understanding was that EDC were to remarket the hall for the provision of community facilities the end of May but this now looks to be more like the middle of June.
What’s been done so far?
Freedom of Information request
On 6 March a Freedom of Information Request was submitted to EDC for documents including a copy of the £6 million refurbishment cost estimate on which the proposal to no longer refurbish the hall was based.
Despite EDC being under an obligation to give the information as “quickly as possible” and “within 20 days at the most”, EDC finally responded on 28 April, 55 working days after the request and following it being necessary to request a internal review of its failure to reply. We now have a copy of the £6 million cost estimate.
Complaint
Love Lenzie, Lenzie Community Council, Girl Guiding Lenzie District and various members of the community have sent a formal complaint to EDC (cc: our MP, all MSPs and all EDC Councillors) about what’s happened concerning Lenzie Public Hall.
The complaint’s main ask is that EDC and its Councillors demonstrate their commitment to giving support to a community organisation taking on the hall by agreeing to not market the hall for a period of 6 months, the aim to give everyone (the community, local groups and organisations, EDC, the Councillors elected to represent Lenzie, all our EDC representatives, plus MSPs and MP and potential funders) time to work and engage together to explore comprehensively, and once and for all, the feasibility of a well-run community-led organisation taking on the hall as a Community Asset Transfer.
EDC have replied but haven’t agreed to this. The reason they have stated is that: “more than one community group … expressed an interest in the facility during the previous marketing campaign and that in order to ensure a fair and transparent process the Hall has to be marketed to ensure every community led group has the opportunity to express their interest in the facility.“.
The same signatories have now sent a joint reply asking:
– for their complaint to be investigated further at Stage 2 of EDC’s Complaints Handling Procedure
– that EDC do not market the hall for a period of 6 months to enable any community-led organisation that wishes to do so the opportunity to look at the feasibility of / submit an application for a Community Asset Transfer
– that, if Lenzie Public Hall is ever to be run by a third party that is not a community-led organisation, then this must be on “lease only” terms (not via a transfer / sale) with EDC retaining obligations in the lease to repair the building and the ability to be terminate the lease if the third party fails to provide affordable and readily accessible community facilities. For this, the hall must first be refurbished, as previously agreed, before being let to the third party.
What we’re looking to do next / how you can help?
We’re now waiting a Stage 2 reply to our complaint.
If you’d like to submit your own complaint, we’ve put together this draft wording and draft email distribution list for helping you do so.
In the meantime, we’re looking to swiftly get together a team of people to look at (come what may) and, once and for all, the feasibility of a well-run community-led organisation taking on the hall as a Community Asset Transfer.
We’ve an amazing community with a wealth of skills, experience, enthusiasm and determination. Working together we can do this!