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Camden New Journal - by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 16 August 2007

Canoes drift off as adventure centre loses
financial support

Youth outdoor centre faces extended closure after equipment goes missing

AN adventure centre in Camden Town could be closed for months after its climbing wall and the entire fleet of canoes went missing.
The Jubilee Waterside Centre in Camley Street closed at the start of the month after the centre’s tenants, the Jubilee Waterside Centre Limited, went into liquidation.
They had been wrangling with the Town Hall for months after their council funding was axed.
The loss of equipment has meant the centre – which has a membership of 600 youngsters – will stay closed until the council can afford to pump in the money needed for replacements, Camden said.
Most of the 30-year-old building’s fixtures and fittings have also disappeared.
Camden pulled the plug on emergency handouts for the Jubilee Centre, which offered classes in climbing, kayaking and canoeing, last year.
Camden said managers had not achieved financial stability, although Martin Shaw, chairman of the Jubilee, felt a lack of support from the Town Hall was to blame for their money woes.
Bailiffs who reclaimed the building last Wednesday found it empty.
A council press officer said: “As landlords of Jubilee Waterside Centre, Camden Council has taken immediate and necessary steps to recover the building with the aim of getting it reopened for community use as soon as possible.”
There is now likely to be an ongoing dispute over whether the canoes and the climbing wall were part of the assets connected to building.
A Town Hall spokeswoman added: “Camden Council did as much as it could to prevent the centre from closing and had no choice but to take this action to protect the building for the community. (Replacing the missing equipment), and finding another organisation to take over the lease, may take some time.
“However, we are committed to doing all we can to make sure this fantastic facility reopens for schools, youth clubs and the local community as soon as possible.”
Mr Shaw said he would comment at a later stage.

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