Green Party councillor Byran Driver has called for greater transparency over Tothill Community Centre as the closure of the Large Hall leaves community groups without their usual venue.
The latest closure comes after problems affecting The Little Café and the Small Hall, and has prompted fresh questions from people who use the centre about what has happened and how the situation has been handled.
Cllr Driver said: “I’m incredibly frustrated that Tothill is now without a functioning Community Centre, following Friday’s news that the Large Hall has also had to close while urgent surveys and works are carried out.
“I appreciate that the Council is trying to learn lessons from previous issues and has provided more information about why the building has been closed. However, this latest closure will have a real impact on the remaining clubs and community groups that were still able to use the centre. Once again, it is the local community that is paying the price.”
Cllr Driver said he would now be contacting clubs and groups affected to understand what support they need and how he could help them.
But some people who use the centre say they have little confidence in the information provided.
Shirley Montgomery, whose skate club uses the centre, challenged the explanation surrounding the leak.
She said: “Who found the leak? Absolute nonsense! I think proper photographic evidence is needed.
“They cancelled my skate club by email an hour and a half before it was due to start then emailed me again at the end of the working day on Friday to say it was closed completely.
“Completely unprofessional and the hall had been used all week with no evidence of leak. What’s going on?”
Sue Mumford, who said she has been dancing in the Large Hall during the past two weeks, also questioned the explanation for its closure.
She said: “Been dancing in the Big Hall last two weeks. Roof definitely not leaking. Clearly another motive.”
Another centre user has also raised concerns about communication following the closure.
Lorna McCallum, who attends a Home Education family learning group run by On Course South West, said members had not been told that their sessions would not be restarting as expected.
She said: “When were you going to notify your Home Ed family learning group that should be starting back up on Thursday? We’ve been told nothing and if it wasn’t for this post we’d be turning up!
“Have you made alternative arrangements for a location for our group to continue running until this is sorted?”
Her comments add to concerns being raised by centre users about how the closure has been communicated and what arrangements are being made for groups which rely on the building.
The comments reflect the views of individual centre users and do not establish whether a leak was present or whether there was another reason for the closure.
Cllr Driver said the latest closure was particularly concerning given the earlier scrutiny of the building.
He said: “Given the significant attention that has been rightly focused on the condition of The Little Café and the Small Hall in recent weeks, serious questions must now be asked about how the issues affecting the Large Hall were not identified sooner.”
He believes the problems at Tothill should prompt Plymouth City Council to look beyond one building and examine the condition of community centres across the city.
Cllr Driver added: “The persistent problems at Tothill Community Centre demonstrate the need for Plymouth City Council to urgently review the maintenance and condition of all of its community centres.
“These are hugely important community assets. Residents should be able to rely on them being safe, properly maintained and available for the clubs, groups and activities that bring our communities together.”
Clubs and organisations that had continued using the Large Hall now face uncertainty over where their sessions can take place, and users are still waiting to learn when the problem was discovered and when the centre will reopen.
At the time of publication, Plymouth’s Labour administration had not responded to the concerns being raised by centre users over the latest closure.
Photographs © Wayne Perry / Plymouth Post