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Hall ‘taken’ from elderly
SENIOR citizens in Maida Vale say the council has no respect for older people.
Members of the Lydford Senior Citizens Club in Portgate Road are outraged at plans to charge them rent.
They have been told they must pay £7.50 an hour to use the space after 30 years of having it for free.
The council intends to turn the large hall, used throughout the week by 30 pensioners for indoor bowls and bingo, into a community centre.
The members presented a petition with dozens of signatures to the council on Wednesday.
The Club’s chairwoman Florence Dauncey, who lives in Pennymore Walk, said: “They have told us to raise money with jumble sales but we can’t do that now. We are all over 80 years old.
“For 30 years it’s been our hall – we’ve had sole use of it, we’ve managed it, and raised the money to furnish and equip it through all those years.
“It’s been hard to accept that we have to share the hall, but we’ve done that with a good grace – we realise that this is a scarce facility.
“What we ask is that we should be regarded as the primary users, in acknowledgement of three decades of commitment to the hall and the Club.
“This would mean that we would not have to pay rent. Dozens of local people have signed our petition, and we want the council to listen.”
Harrow Road Labour councillor Ruth Bush said: “The Seniors’ work for the club down the years, and the money they have raised to furnish and equip the hall, should be properly recognised.” |
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