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MP Emily Thornberry |
Found: £2.4m ‘stash’ that could save health centre
LABOUR MP Emily Thornberry believes she may have discovered a “stash” of cash that could save Finsbury Health Centre.
The MP for Islington South and Finsbury is lobbying bosses of regeneration body EC1 New Deal about using a £2.5million capital works budget to refurbish the iconic Grade I-listed building in Pine Street.
The health centre, designed by Berthold Lubetkin in 1937, is threatened with closure by NHS Islington, which claims it is too expensive to maintain.
Ms Thornberry said: “So far, no one has been prepared to put up the money we would need. But this stash of at least £2.4million in EC1 New Deal’s account could be the lifeline the health centre needs, going a long way towards the money we need to keep it open.
“Other New Deal projects have used funds to provide a legacy for their areas, and I can think of no better legacy for EC1 New Deal than saving the much-loved Finsbury Health Centre. It is the people’s palace of medical surgeries and I hope EC1 New Deal seizes this chance to save it.”
The money was originally earmarked for the rebuilding of Finsbury Leisure Centre. But those plans have been shelved, leaving Finsbury Health Centre in prime position to benefit from the money, according to Ms Thornberry.
She has written to New Deal chairman Matthew Humphreys and other board members, urging them to offer the money to NHS Islington to save Finsbury Health Centre.
Ms Thornberry said: “We need to put that money into saving Finsbury Health Centre. The council could use the hall area for their facilities.”
EC1 New Deal, a government quango, was given £52.9million in 2001 to spend on regeneration projects in south Islington over 10 years. It has £2.4million left, which must be spent on the area by 2011.
Labour councillor Martin Klute, chairman of the council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee, has welcomed the plans ahead of a crunch public meeting with Islington Council chief executive John Foster at the town hall at 7.30pm on Monday.
The committee will present its findings to the council on December 10 and a final report and decision on the future of the building will be made on January 7.
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