14 Nov 2024
Just weeks after their much-heralded takeover of Cottonmill Community and Cycling Centre, SADC contractors have slashed opening hours without warning or consultation.
Everyone Active, who took over management of the centre from the Cycling Hub on October 1, have reduced weekday openings from 10am-3pm, Saturdays from 10am-2pm, and will be closing the centre all day Sundays. Weekend room hire is also restricted to a minimum of three hours.
For comparison, the previous opening hours were 9am-5pm weekdays and 9am-4pm weekends, plus the café and centre toilets were open whenever there were later bookings – which was most nights.
When the centre opened in March 2023, councillors predicted an exciting future.
Cllr Robert Donald, chair of SADC’s regeneration and business committee, said it was a model of what can be achieved by partnership working and community activism.
“I was determined that the centre’s future should also be financially secure through the council’s leisure contractors Everyone Active, the onsite Cycling Hub operation and the café concession.
“I have no doubt that it will prove to be a highly valued community facility for years to come.”
Cllr Helen Campbell, chair of the public realm committee, added: “I believe that together, we have created something really special here – a fantastic multi-purpose community facility that will be enjoyed by Sopwell and St Albans residents for years to come.”
But now those hopes have been dashed, leaving local community groups and voluntary organisations uncertain about what it means for their futures.
Michelle Mackenzie, chair of the Cottonmill and Sopwell Hub group behind the seven-year campaign to open the centre, said: “These new operating times mean that the centre is only reliably accessible for families and children for four hours a week now – on a Saturday between 10am-2pm.
“All the other times it’s scheduled to be open are during school hours and it’s closed all day Sundays. All these wonderful facilities created for the district’s families and children to enjoy and they’re unlikely to be able to access the café or the toilets during the majority of the time they may be on site.”
Gail Jackson, chair of Sopwell Residents Association and a member of the Cottonmill and Sopwell Hub group said: “Clearly St Albans council is one of many councils needing to tighten their belts and save money at this time. But I am bewildered by the council’s lack of consultation with the community over these new restrictive changes and increased fees to this fabulous community centre over which local residents feel such a strong sense of ownership.
“Community stakeholders were informed of the changes one full week after the changes came into operation. There appears to be a lack of understanding about what it takes to run a successful community centre.
“We are very upset to see the confusing new rules – which appear to say there is a minimum booking of three hours for the large hall and small hall together – which is too expensive for many small groups to hire. Fees have also increased since last year. It seems the council has got something very wrong this time.”
Gail said when Everyone Active took on the contract to run the community centre in 2022 it was fully aware it was never going to make a large profit – but it was just a very small part of their overall contract to run all the council’s fitness and leisure centres – including the Eric Morecambe Centre, Westminster Lodge, the Alban Arena, Batchwood Golf Course and Sports Centre, Cotlandswick Leisure Centre and Harpenden Leisure Centre.
Gail added: “Local charitable groups – including Sopwell Residents Association, Leeanna’s Wish and St Albans Community Pantry – have forged ahead over the past two years to create multiple events and regular sessions including currently providing free food and children’s activities twice a week to nearly 100 local people.
“Leeanna’s Wish have developed an extraordinarily successful community café with additional advice available, support for parents with children with additional needs, women’s football sessions, free craft sessions and fitness sessions. Only in July this year the residents’ association held a summer community festival at the centre attracting 1,200 people – showing the fantastic networks our volunteer efforts have established.
“These local groups, and the residents who attend, have so much commitment and enthusiasm for this centre – together with many ideas and strong networks in the St Albans community. Yet the lack of consultation shows the community is not considered to be key to developing ideas for making the centre more profitable – probably not the best strategy.
“For instance, the community insisted on the centre having a Changing Places toilet in the centre – which cost around £64,000. This has created a fully accessible meeting place for people with disabilities, yet bizarrely it took two years for the council to ensure this facility was properly promoted on the Changing Places website for all people with disabilities to see. So far we have seen no bookings from any disability groups – it’s a waste, and suggestive of other options that have not been fully exploited to bring in money.”
Shelley Hayes, speaking on behalf of the directors of Leeanna’s Wish, said: “Leeanna’s Wish CIC is a major user – possibly the major user of the centre – and successfully runs a number of programmes there.
“We uniquely manage to reach a very wide cross section of the community in one of St Albans largest areas of deprivation. These programmes don’t just start on a whim but take time to put together and to source a skilled team and resources to deliver.
“A key feature of the programmes is our intensive use of the community centre so that we deliver services in a location which is easily accessible to our users. Venue cost is one of our major outgoings and we have to source funding to pay for the ongoing venue hire. Grant funding can take in excess of six months to obtain so certainty of venue opening hours and costs is essential to guarantee delivery.
“CCCC is a ‘community centre’ so shouldn’t the council be looking at expanding rather than curtailing the usage by users and predominantly the local community particularly during this cost of living crisis and at a time when a number of our older neighbours face the loss of the winter fuel allowance?
“The centre is currently being used as a ‘Warm Hub’ over the winter months so maximising opening hours would seem a sensible option.
“Alongside our formal programmes, Leeanna’s Wish also engages with local youth who tend to congregate around the centre. Our presence helps to counteract the malign influence of those who target vulnerable youth for criminal and sexual exploitation, so longer opening hours increases the possibility of keeping our young people safe.
“We have not had any direct contact with the council to understand the issues concerning the operation of the centre but would welcome the opportunity to work closely with them to try to find a solution that will benefit the community.”
Monir Ali, lead volunteer with 20th St Albans Scouts, added: “We put a lot of trust, effort and support into this project and this change will impact the longevity of our Scouts group.
“We have spent considerable time supporting the project, and have been consulted at every single step since the inception of the new build on everything from heat pumps, kitchen oven, flooring and even door handles, but then to receive an email out of the blue less than a month after the management changes is unacceptable.
“The time changes are going to affect our ability to provide consistent Scouting services to your people, especially as we only book for 90 minutes at a time.
“From the outset of this project, Annette Payne, the district lead volunteer and myself, had concerns about the access, costings and historical fees. These are well documented in minutes.
“At every stage we were all reassured that the aim was to ensure that the community had an accessible usable venue, but I now believe this is not the case. How long before stakeholders are forced out and it becomes a venue for those who can afford it, not who needs it?”
The wider Sopwell community has also reacted to the news of the reduced opening hours.
Sopwell resident Miranda Singh Multani said: “I have been using the Cottonmill Centre since it opened – it has been a great place for me to visit with lots going on for my two children – and now I am involved as a volunteer helping to make activities happen. I am really upset by the changes which means the café and toilets will be closed for most of the weekend – except for four hours on a Saturday.
“Also these are the only accessible facilities around Sopwell and they are now going to be shut for the majority of the time.Considering they have only just registered the Changes Places Toilet it makes no sense they haven’t even given it a chance for people with disabilities to get to know about it – with zero advertising how did they expect to gain customers?
“The community also fundraised for a defibrillator – which was installed inside the centre –which is now open for only a few hours on weekdays and Saturdays and closed all day Sunday! Maybe Everyone Active could arrange to have the defibrillator installed and wired up outside the centre to allow residents of Sopwell to use it should an emergency happen outside these limited opening hours.”
Sharon Linney, who works for St Albans Action for the Homeless, is also a volunteer for the St Albans Community Pantry, that runs a Warm Hub session for around 50 people a week at the community centre.
She said: “It seems that they are expecting community groups to hire the halls for a minimum of three hours – that’s nearly another £40 a week for our Warm Hub! We are already providing food and warmth for 50 people – all run by local volunteers giving up their free time week in week out.
“How do they expect us to find this additional money? It’s shocking that a business that makes millions in profit every year creates these obstacles. We are a fantastic community in Sopwell and the centre has provided a hub to enable local people to help each other. It needs more support, not less!”
The St Albans Times wanted to understand how SADC planned to cover operating costs of the centre when it was built? What was the operating model that was put in place at that time so that we can better understand whether this is a community resource or a commercial venture?
We believe that this is the third change of operating model in approximately two years but there has been no clarity on how this much-loved venue is supposed to operate for the benefit of the community.
SADC strategic director for community and place delivery Chris Traill responded to the changes: “We have carried out a review of the centre’s operations with our leisure contractor Everyone Active which last month took back control of the management of the site from the Cycle Hub.
“Our aim is to ensure the centre remains financially viable while continuing to meet the needs of the local community.
“It was quite clear that there is not enough demand to justify the current opening times and the centre will now close at 3pm instead of 5pm on weekdays unless there are later bookings.
We will continue to facilitate bookings after 3pm and I’m pleased to say the new opening times will honour every single current booking, including the Scouts, so no user will be adversely affected.
“As the changes were being implemented, we are aware that an error was made at a Residents Association meeting. We apologise for this error and have taken steps to rectify it.
“Most of the reduction in opening hours will fall at weekends when the centre is empty and rarely used apart from Saturday mornings when it will remain open.
“The centre can still, though, be hired by groups or individuals at weekends outside of opening times for three-hour sessions.
“These changes will reduce financial losses, secure the centre’s long-term future and are tailored to meet the needs of the Sopwell community.
“We will review again in the spring and may extend the opening times for the warmer months if that seems viable.”
Ms Traill added: “The centre is a community asset, providing residents with facilities for sporting, social and cultural activities. Along with our leisure contractor Everyone Active, we are committed to ensuring it remains financially viable.
