Pierremont Park Community Centre

By Cllr Matterface - Beacon Road Ward, Broadstairs

Nearly a decade ago Broadstairs & St. Peter’s Town Council came up with a scheme to build a community centre, a scheme that has divided the community it was intended to serve ever since.

The location for the centre, Pierremont Park, a town-centre green space, would be changed beyond recognition by a large building, the loss of mature trees and open space, creating a financial burden for the council taxpayer for many years.

A trust was set up, trustees appointed, funding won and lost. The scheme still proved controversial since many residents of all backgrounds objected to the whole approach of the plan.

An amended plan in two phases was agreed by the TDC planning committee. A £500000 loan from the Public Works Loan Board was taken out even before a lease was agreed at an annual cost to the council taxpayer of £35000. Together with the annual rent and rates this would equate to more than 25% of the town council’s precept. Funding from both TDC and KCC has been promised and rolled over several times.

 A section 106 from the Hereson School site has been signed but the terms of that agreement and the proposed lease have not been made public so I cannot comment with any accuracy on those. The trust asked for a 99 year lease since funding would be impossible, it seems, with anything less. This would mean the land would be lost to the public more or less indefinitely.

Since the scheme was first thought of much has changed nationally and locally. New schools have up-to-date facilities. Churches have modified their premises and halls and the GAP Project at the Baptist Church is up and running. All this makes the community centre unnecessary and a financial burden for the council taxpayer for decades to come.

There are times when with any project there is a point when we say ‘enough’s enough, let’s cut our losses and move on’ and that time is now. I am asking the cabinet to refuse to award the lease for any period as the centre is unnecessary, too expensive to run and of doubtful viability.

Some questions need answering

By Jennifer Matterface


Can anyone give me the answers to the following questions relating to Pierremont Park and the planned community centre?


Firstly, who owns the park, the town council or the district council or perhaps even the people of Broadstairs?


Secondly, who will own the community centre? Will the trust be the legal owners or do they have a lease from the town council or the district council for a specified period of time? Is it perhaps an example of Thanet District Council's asset-disposal scheme?


Thirdly, what is the plan for running the centre? Will there be a paid manger or a volunteer to oversee the day-to-day management? Who sets the rental charges? Maintains the building?


Fourthly, what is the trust's exit strategy should the scheme not be a success? Will the building be sold off or handed back or left empty? A white elephant for all to admire whilst still paying off the loan? Since trustees of a charity are responsible in law for the way a charity is run, what safeguards are in place to ensure due diligence has been carried out on all involved with the scheme?


Finally, I think I've only ever met one person who is in favour of the scheme and he was a town Councillor. Everyone else I've spoken to sees merit in using one of the many other venues in the town like the new centre at the Baptist Church or in one of our local schools and church halls. I agree with them. Why build something else when all the other venues would benefit from the income to be generated from regular lettings?

Broadstairs Cinema

by Dr R. L. Symonds

Here in Broadstairs we have an excellent small independent cinema, with an enthusiastic film society, showing a weekly art or indie film. The cinema also shows the usual general release films the rest of the week. For the last two weeks however, we are unable to see our film society films, because the cinema proprietor is prevented from showing them by Warner Bros.

This multi-billion pound international company insists that when the cinema shows the latest of their 'Harry Potter productions, they will show no other film, and of course the cinema has to comply because they fear retaliation when they next want to show a Warner Bros film.

It seems Warner Bros, who could buy up many small countries, without really noticing, resents losing even a few pounds income. I suspect that this practice is illegal, even though the proprietor admitted it was in his contract with Warner Bros - although it could be said that such a contract is hardly freely entered into. However, the law counts for nothing against the powerful.