African Caribbean Centre, Highfields; Newfoundpool Neighbourhood Centre; Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre; Northfields Neighbourhood Centre; Braunstone Frith Recreation Centre; Oak Centre, Braunstone; Braunstone Grove; Ocean Road Recreation Centre, Thurnby Lodge; Coleman Lodge Community Centre, North Evington; Rushey Mead Recreation Centre; Coleman Neighbourhood Centre, Crown Hills; Southfields Drive Community Centre, Saffron Lane Estate; Cort Crescent Community Centre, Braunstone; Southfields Drive Sports Hall, Braunstone; Eyres Monsell Community Centre; St Matthews Centre; Fosse Centre, Newfoundpool; Stocking Farm Community Centre; Gilmorton Community Rooms, Aylestone; The BRITE centre, Braunstone; Home Farm Community Centre, Beaumont Leys; Thurnby Lodge Community Centre; Linwood Centre, West Knighton; Tudor Centre, Mowmacre Hill; Manor House Community Centre, Rowley Fields; West End Neighbourhood Centre; Netherhall Neighbourhood Centre; Winstanley Community Centre; New Parks Community Centre. Community centre hire fees to rise Charges for hiring rooms at city council-owned community centres are set to increase by hundreds of pounds a year. ADVERTISING Leicester City Council is reviewing fees at its 29 community centres and said it wanted to create a fairer and more consistent system. However, under the proposed changes, about 250 customers will see their costs rise by between 50p and £12 a week. The changes will affect community groups as well as other organisations and individuals, such as fitness instructors and further education colleges and, in fewer cases, businesses. Leicestershire Age UK said some clubs for elderly people hire rooms from the council and are struggling to pay for room hire at current rates. Age UK executive director Tony Donovan said: "There are obviously costs associated with running community centres and they are going up, in some cases when the number of people using them is going down. "We have some buildings ourselves and have to raise fees. When we do it we try to give two years' notice. The proposed increases would be on top of a three per cent inflationary rise that came in April. The new regime is likely to come into force from September. The council said there would be winners as well as losers, with about 100 groups seeing charges fall by about £6.70 a week. The city council gets about £6,100 a week from the charges – and expects that to rise to £6,400 a week. The Mercury asked for information about how specific groups would be affected financially but the city council declined to reveal it as it has not yet told the organisations. It is to write to all parties to tell them how they will be affected by the changes. Assistant mayor for neighbourhood services, Councillor Sarah Russell, said: "Some may see an increase, others will pay less. We know some groups may need help to meet any increase so we're proposing to phase in any rises over a number of months." Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Community-centre-hire-fees-rise/story-19155423-detail/story.html#ixzz3cAvYY8FN Follow us: @Leicester_Merc on Twitter | leicestermercury on Facebook
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By danjmartin | Posted: March 11, 2015
Suleman Nagdi Comments (9) Nearly £90,000 is set to be cut from the funding for six community organisations. ADVERTISING Leicester City Council spends £286,000 on contracts with groups providing services to support different communities and help tackle inequality. It intends to reduce that to about £200,000. The proposed cuts could affect the African Caribbean Citizens Forum, The Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO), the Gujurat Hindu Association, Leicester Council of Faiths, The Race Equality Centre and The Somali Development Service. All the groups generally supply advice and training to residents and have received long-term grant support from the council. The council has launched a 12-week public consultation as part of a review looking at whether the services currently provided reflect the changing demographic make-up of the city. Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "The voluntary and community sector has played an important role in promoting community cohesion in Leicester for many years and we recognise the experience, knowledge and skills it brings to the city. "But as the city's demographic make-up changes, it is important we know – and can show – we are keeping pace with its changing population. "The contracts we have with these organisationsbeen in place for some years. "With increasing demands on council finances, it is important we allocate funding in ways that offer the most benefit to the city and that we work with the right groups on the right issues. "This consultation will allow anyone to have a say on whether we are accurately representing the city's key communities." The consultation is part of a continuing review of the council's funding to the voluntary and community sector. That has looked at support for volunteering and training and support for voluntary and community groups. Following opposition to the review and the threat of a potentially costly legal challenge, Leicester City Council agreed to look again at the proposals and has extended funding to the affected groups until October. FMO spokesman Suleman Nagdi said: "We are in a very challenging situation but we understand the need of the local authority to make savings. "We do, however, bring value for that money. We represent 200 affiliates and the council must ask itself if it would be cheaper to deal with one organisation or multiple ones."We think this is a time when the Muslim community needs a strong voice more than ever." The consultation runs until May 29. Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Leicester-community-organisations-face-90-000/story-26156821-detail/story.html#ixzz3cAtwLtBR Follow us: @Leicester_Merc on Twitter | leicestermercury on Facebook Uncertain future for Leicester community centres as volunteers are sought to run them - Nov 20146/5/2015 http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Uncertain-future-Leicester-community-centres/story-24572050-detail/story.html The future of a number of community centres in Leicester is hanging in the balance as the city council looks to find volunteers and community groups to take them over. The council currently manages 11 properties in Braunstone, the West End and Newfoundpool which cost about £435,000 a year. It says Government funding cuts mean it needs to reduce the cost by 30 per cent. The council hopes to offload Braunstone Grove and Braunstone Oak Centre, Cort Crescent Community Centre, Winstanley Community Centre and Newfoundpool Community Centre. Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Uncertain-future-Leicester-community-centres/story-24572050-detail/story.html#ixzz3cAph0m20 Follow us: @Leicester_Merc on Twitter | leicestermercury on FacebookIf nobody comes forward to take them on they are likely to be closed. Some may be demolished and sold off as land for new social housing. Assistant city mayor responsible for neighbourhoods councillor Sarah Russell said the council was currently focussing on finding volunteers rather than the prospect of shutting the community centres. She said: “After consulting with local people, we know how much they value neighbourhood services. “By offering some of our buildings to the community and voluntary sector to run, we can ensure that the services people value can continue.” Under the scheme – known as community asset transfer – groups would take over the day-to-day running of buildings. The council’s West End Neighbourhood Centre has already been transferred to a community group – Leicester Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) – on a long-term lease. Coun Russell added: “We’ve already had expressions of interest from some groups to run these buildings. “Now we’re asking anyone else who might be interested to come forward too, so that we can make sure anybody who is interested has the opportunity to talk to us.” The council does intend to spend £135,000 upgrading Westcotes Library, in Narborough Road, to improve access to computers, install self-service machines and open a new space that could be hired by community groups. The Fosse Centre, in Mantle Road, will have £130,000 spent on it to improve library access and provide more community space. No changes are planned for the Woodgate Resource Centre but the council says it will seek ways to reduce the £43,500 cost of running Manor House Community Centre, in Haddenham Road, with the community board that currently runs it. Community and voluntary sector groups which might be interested in running any of the buildings being offered up for transfer can find out more at an information session. It will be held at the Brite Centre in Braunstone on Monday November 24 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm. It will be will be run by an organisation called Locality – a national network for community organisations that can offer independent advice and support to groups which may wish to take on a lease. The deadline to express an interest in taking on a building is December 12. To express an interest call 0116 454 2125 or email eddie.beilby@leicester.gov.uk Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Uncertain-future-Leicester-community-centres/story-24572050-detail/story.html#ixzz3cApLjZEm Follow us: @Leicester_Merc on Twitter | leicestermercury on Facebook http://www.leicestercommunitycenter.com/history The Journey from the Turkey Creek Campground to Leicester Community Center The grounds at the Leicester Community Center have a story to tell. The 21 acres now including the Community Center, Lawter Court, and Camp Forrest were donated to the Methodist Church by James Gudger on March 22nd 1827 this deed is in deed book 13 page 466 at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds. This brought the birth of the Turkey Creek Campground. There was a large arbor with benches, a pulpit, and an altar where many people knelt and came up shouting. There were sepreate meetings held for men and women. Around the large arbor were plank tents consisting of four rooms each. The beds were straw covered floors and bedding. The reception room had long benches and the kitchen had a fireplace for food preparation. Each year for about a week to 10 days in August people would come from all over to worship. They came in wagons, on horses and later on in buggies and carriages. Bishop Francis Asbury writes in his diary of visiting the campground in 1806 and preaching to 500 souls. The Holston Methodism Volume 4 mentions a meeting in the fall of 1851 where preaching by Rev William Hicks over 100 people were converted in a 20 hour period. By 1893 the property was in poor condition and interest in the meetings had fallen. The event that would end the camp meetings happened that year. Two men inflamed by a quarrel got into a fist fight. The smaller of the two was taking a beating so he pulled a knife and stabbed the other man to death. Soon after that incident the meetings stopped altogether. The property, still owned by the Methodist Church, was converted into two parsonages, one for the Sandy Mush Charge and one for the Leicester Charge. On May 1, 1957 The Leicester Charge requested that the land be split between the 2 charges. After this split took place the Leicester Charge met at Dix Creek Methodist Church on November 10th 1957 and adopted a resolution to give the parsonage and property to the Leicester Youth Center the parsonage trustees were: Hal Wells, Donald Austin, and J. Fred Hall. The Articles of Incorporation were filed with the state of North Carolina on November 25th 1957. This document can be found in book C020 page 587 at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds. The initial board of directors were: Claude H. Rogers, Kate S. Reeves, and J. Millard Shook. The men and women listed as the original incorporators were: Donald C. McKenzie, Kate S. Reeves, Claude H. Rogers, J. Millard Shook, John G. Kerr, and N.A. Randall. The activities during this time included many for the youth of the community. To occupy their time they could participate in Little League and Babe Ruth League baseball team play, scouting for all ages, both boys and girls, a junior rifle club which was affiliated with the NRA, Home Economics, 4-H and FFA clubs, football and basketball games, a dramatic club and a host of other wholesome activities. Dr. John G. Kerr, for whom the Erwin High football field was named, was president of the Leicester Youth Center for many of those early years. The center at this time had a well equipped kitchen, a dining and meeting hall, a library, and two bathrooms. Outside was a basketball court, baseball field, a rifle range, a picnic area with a large barbeque pit, and a ring for horseback riding. Perhaps the greatest tribute to the Community’s spirit came in 1961 when the Leicester Grange won the $10,000 Community Service Award. The National Grange wasn’t the only organization to recognize Leicester for it’s community improvements in 1961. The community took first place in the farm division of the WNC rural community development contest and third place in the youth division of that contest. The center flourished as the Leicester Youth Center for over 25 years when another change came. On May 24th 1985 the official name was changed from the Leicester Youth Center to the Leicester Community Center. This document can be found in book C071 page 661 at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds. However many still refer to it as the Youth Center. The president at this time was J.B. Snelson and the secretary was Joann Swilling. This change came due to the center being used more as a community center than a youth center. However to this day the focus is on the youth. We still maintain a baseball field, basketball court, and a playground for the youth. We have won many awards over the years from groups like the Buncombe County Rural Development Program, and WNC Communities. |
Leila Houston
Leila Houston (London, 1977) is a visual artist whose work investigates the social, political and historical aspects of a place. Categories |