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'Use it or lose it' warning over Cockfield Community Centre
May 29, 2008
USE it or lose it - that's the warning to Cockfield residents, whose village community centre could face closure.
The future of Cockfield Community Centre is to be decided at the annual parish meeting on Tuesday, June3, at 7pm, in the community centre.
The centre, whose trustees are Cockfield Parish Council members, has been slowly falling into decline due to a lack of users and other improved community facilities in the area.
They warn that without support and help from local people, and income from regular activities and events, the centre will soon be forced to close.
The centre was formerly a United Reformed Church dating from 1898. In 1997, a ground floor extension was constructed to the rear of the property to form a small dining room, kitchen and to provide additional toilets.
In 2007, through a project with Teesdale Village Halls Consortium, the computer suite in the centre was revamped with new computer screens and chairs, and courses in numeracy and literacy took place.
Fergus Arkley, business and development manager for Teesdale Village Halls Consortium, of which Cockfield Community Centre is a member, said: "This is a precarious situation; the community association needs the support of the community with its use and management or they will have to close.
"It's important for people to attend this meeting to tell us how they feel about the building and if there is the support within the community to keep it open."