"Help Save Mission Dine Club Centre"

A review of Mission Dine Club by Awla Ama written on Monday 24th of January 2011

A well attended Public Meeting was held on 18th January 2011, at Mission Dine Club (MDC) Centre, regarding the proposed demolition of MDC Centre. The meeting was chaired by Cllr. James Allie.

Mr. Richard Barrett, Head of Property and Asset Management, was at the meeting. He stated Brent Council's position and answered questions.

Dame Betty Asafu-Adjaye's MDC Centre is a community anchor, and provides a caring environment for the elderly and vulnerable to have a healthy meal, ease their isolation and socialise.

The Council says it wants to demolish MDC Centre to provide school places. MDC users and supporters do not want the Centre to be demolished. They believe the Council is confusing its statutory duty to provide school places with demolishing a community asset built by MDC at a cost in excess of £200,000. A number of community members put it to the Council that it was not compelled to demolish MDC Centre, and that there were other options regarding school places. The Council appeared unwilling to consider alternatives.

The meeting did not think it was in the public interest to bulldoze a community asset built with considerable funds, and was of the view that doing so would send the wrong message to funders.

The following points came out of the meeting:

1.Brent council has a duty under the Equality Act towards the elderly and vulnerable, and also has a duty to provide school places.

2.Brent council has a statutory duty to provide school places, but there is no statutory duty to provide additional school places at Newfield Primary School, which was assessed at Grade 3 (Ofsted 2009 report), and which according to Ofsted, has a low retention rate.

3.There are Brent primary schools assessed by Ofsted at higher levels than Newfield Primary School. Those schools could be expanded to provide necessary school places.

4.The consultation regarding the expansion of Newfield Primary School did not state that the only way Newfield Primary School could be expanded was by building on land occupied by MDC Centre. The consultation said this was an option. The meeting's understanding of an option is that there are other possibilities.

5.There are ways of expanding Newfield Primary School without demolishing MDC. The Swedish example of building raised playgrounds was one of the alternatives that was suggested. This has been used in Westminster and Brent should explore it fully before dismissing it as too expensive.

6.If the council is bent on demolishing MDC Centre then it should provide a place for Centre in proposed new building. This is possible by using Planning Powers under Section 106, of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as amended by Planning and Compensation Act 1991, section 12. The meeting was not convinced that the funding for expansion of school places makes it impossible to provide a space for MDC Centre in new building.

7.MDC Centre has been providing training and volunteering opportunities, and the meeting could not understand why the proposed new building cannot house MDC. The children could volunteer at MDC, learn from the elderly and thereby widen their knowledge. Extra curricula activities are an integral part of education.

8.Considerable Lottery Funds went into building MDC centre. The Council gave MDC permission to build the Centre, and MDC says it received assurances that the lease would be renewed. If the Council is bent on demolish the Centre, it should be prepared to compensate MDC..

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