Users of a threatened community centre packed a meeting to call on Colchester Council to stump up £70,000 towards the cost of saving it.
Residents took their fight to save the community centre in Straight Road, Colchester, to Colchester Council's cabinet meeting last night.
They called upon the council to help purchase the building from Essex County Council, which is selling it.
Sue Hawes, treasurer of the pre-school previously run at the centre, said the county council would sell it to the community at a discount.
She said the county was willing to knock £70,000 off the asking price, reducing it from £280,000 to £210,000. She argued if Colchester Council matched that £70,000, the community would seek the rest through grants and fundraising.
"If this site goes to be developed for housing, our neighbourhood will have lost a valuable community centre which has been here for 140 years, and would have continued to have been a benefit to local people for generations to come," she added.
Mrs Hawes was supported by a number of county and borough councillors.
Borough councillor, John Gray (Lib Dem, Prettygate) said 2,000 signatures in support of saving the centre were gathered in a week.
Cabinet members agreed the proposal should be studied in further depth before a decision was made
Published Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article