Although community centres are helping those struggling with rising food and energy prices, they are also grappling with the prospect of rent increases themselves and are worried about impact that will have. Nottingham City Council are to raise community centre rents by £10 a year to 'market rates.' There are 38 community centres operating across the city and the running costs are in the thousands.
Maria Shakespeare, the Chair for the Crabtree Farm community centre in Bulwell, has spoken out about what the cost of living means for the Crabtree estate community. Maria, who runs a food bank and a community centre café, has had no other choice but to slightly raise her already low prices for food.
Maria, who has been recognised for her community work and received an MBE in 2021, said: “When things are rising so rapidly, why are the Government coming up with phrases such as ‘the cost of living?’ They [the government] love making up phrases but there are no actions to help people. We’ve had to raise the prices for the community café but we’re trying to do it not as much.”
Food and drinks at Crabtree Farm community centre currently range from as low as 50p to £6.50. With proposals that mean social housing rent will be due to go up by 4.1%, Maria said that it’s uncertain about the rent for Crabtree Farm Community Centre. She said: “We’ve had no information on rent yet but I know it’s going up. I think some community centres that have struggled will end up closing down.”
Currently, most of Crabtree Farm’s income is coming from people renting out rooms in the community centre. Maria said that with vital services closing down, community centres are the perfect places for organisations to come and rent rooms out for sessions, but if community centres are closing down, people will have nowhere to go.
Maria spoke about how there’s no longer a certain demographic using the food bank, it could be anyone. She went on and said: “There are people struggling and using the food bank who are working and it’s alright others saying ‘they’ve got a job so why are they coming to the food bank?’ But if there’s nothing left after their wage then they have no choice.”
With speculation of the children’s centre on the estate closing down as well, Maria is concerned that there won't be anything left in the area. She said: “The children’s centre is possibly closing down and then children will suffer and what will happen to the area?
"I’ve been here 21 years and that’s [the children's centre] always been there, that’s going to be another impact on the Crabtree area.” Michele Campbell is one of the chairs for the new Sneinton Community Hub, a community centre now located in Sneinton Boulevard.
Similarly to Crabtree Farm in Bulwell, the community centre in Sneinton is unsure about rent increases. Michele said: “We have asked the question [of how much rent is due to go up] we’re just waiting for the answer.
“Community centres get block funding for overhead costs and that will be reduced, we’re just not sure how much by, it’s a case of waiting and carrying on as normal. Just like Bulwell, Sneinton is a similar area and this is a concern, we’re thinking of strategies for the worst case scenarios but people still have needs."
Councillor Neghat Khan, Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, Safety and Inclusion at Nottingham City Council, said: “We work very well with community groups and charities, and understand the positive impact they have on communities across Nottingham. Some of these lease buildings from the council and provide valued services to local people.
“Historically, these community centres have been made available on extremely low rents – depending on size – but often this can place a burden on the taxpayer in terms of repairing and maintaining the buildings. As part of our work under the Together For Nottingham Plan, we will start to move towards lease agreements more aligned to market rates when they come up for renewal, and where repairs and insurance are included in the agreement.
“However, we absolutely remain open to discussions with groups interested in renting council buildings and discounted leases will still be available where a group can demonstrate their value to the community.”
