Step forward now or Whitchurch community centre will close
Whitchurch community centre, which has served the community for more than 50 years, is based off Bristol Road. The community centre is used on a daily basis by a number of different groups for dancing, art, flower arranging, indoor bowls, little learners, Tae Kwan Do and parties.
Since 1985 the hall has been a registered charity and must have separate holding and management trustees. Whitchurch Parish Council are the holding trustees, while a voluntary group of 10 make up the management trustees.
But husband and wife Tom and Cicely Whitehead, the chairman and secretary of the management trustees, are stepping down and are desperately trying to find new blood.
Currently there are just three committee members for next year and none are prepared to be chairman or secretary. On June 24 the annual general meeting will beheld and failure to recruit the officers and committee members required will mean the community centre will be forced to close immediately.
Mr Whitehead, 69, who has been chairman for the past 10 years, said: "It is extremely vital that people step into our shoes because this is one of the best village halls around, both in terms of how it looks and the facilities it provides. I have said for the last couple of years I am stepping down, but have kept going because there is no one to replace me, but this time I must go because of other commitments.
"Apart from one committee member who is 42, my wife and I are the youngest at 69, with the rest in their 70s and 80s. Many of them are now leaving and we desperately need them to be replaced with new blood.
"It would be an absolute crying shame if it had to close. There are a lot of people who have put in a lot of time and effort to get it going in the first place. It's very annoying that nobody is prepared to step forward.
"At the moment all we are getting is a host of excuses and I think people genuinely think it won't shut.
"But and at the moment there is a great and very real possibility that it is going to close."
Current secretary Mrs Whitehead, 69, said: "I have put advertisements everywhere I can possibly think of but at the moment we have only three committee members and no one who is prepared to be chairman or secretary.
"I wrote to all the regular hirers expressing the urgency of the situation but they seem to mistakenly think everything will be OK.
"The hall closing would be a huge loss to the community because it is very well used. It is used every single day and sometimes twice a day.
"It really is not that big a commitment with a meeting on the last Wednesday of each month. We desperately need people to come forward to save the community centre."
Chairman of Whitchurch Parish Council Ashton Broad said: "The day-to-day running of the community centre is done by the management trustees and is separate from the parish council. The current situation is a concern for everyone because it is a vital facility for the village and is used on a daily basis. We would ask people to please step forward."
Anyone wishing to join the committee please forward your name and address to Mrs Whitehead at 27 Meadowside Drive, Whitchurch, BS14 ONR as soon as possible.
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