Evicted volunteers campaigning to be allowed back into Fearnhead Community Centre

VOLUNTEERS who claim they were unfairly evicted from Fearnhead Community Centre by Warrington Borough Council are campaigning to be allowed back into the community facility.

They claim 30 years of community work has been “destroyed” by the council after a decision was made back in 2019 not to issue a licence for the Fearnhead Management Group to occupy dedicated offices at the premises.

Sue Robinson, Secretary of the Fearnhead Management Group said: “The Volunteers from Fearnhead Cross Community Centre worked with our local community for many years focused on social exclusion and supporting residents experiencing difficult times. We urgently need to be allowed back into the centre to enable us to carry out this much-needed work.

“All we want is to have space from which we can support our community without intimidation from Council Officers. We fear that all the good work and relationships built up over the years will be irretrievably lost if action is not taken soon.
“The Fearnhead Management Group, which coordinated the volunteers, raised funds for the building to be refurbished to suit the needs of the community. Just as we were returning to the centre after the work was completed the council decided to base the Neighbourhood Team in the building. From the very beginning we found that a few members of staff were really friendly and helpful but the attitude of the main core of the staff was, we felt, from day one totally unaccommodating and unfriendly to volunteers and visitors alike making life as difficult as they could. It got to the point when vulnerable residents, in particular, felt so uncomfortable that they shied away from going to the Centre to ask for help.

Sue added: “The staff subjected us to an onslaught of complaints based on misrepresentation and fabrication, all of which we have been able to refute, these were used as a basis for our eviction.
“In the three years since the eviction, we have been the victim of numerous ‘dirty tricks’ and repeatedly ‘stonewalled’ with emails and letters going unanswered and meetings cancelled by both Officers and Executive Members.
“Despite numerous promises to get some of our groups and activities back into the centre we are still being blocked. The latest excuse is that the staff based at the centre say that they cannot work with us as they felt intimidated by our small peaceful protests from the Fearnhead Cross public car park during 2019/2020 – even though many of the staff now working at the centre were not there at the time.
“At one point they had called the police who laughed when they saw the small gaggle of protestors, average age about 75 holding cardboard placards. The police just said that we were holding a peaceful protest and that we were fully entitled to do this. Was it the walking aids or the grey hair that intimidated the staff or was it their own guilty conscience? Sadly, of that small group three have now died, never to work in their beloved Centre again and the rest of us are not getting any younger.
All the indications are that there is now little activity at the centre. One resident who lives nearby was bemused by the term Fearnhead Cross Community Centre, “Oh, you mean the Council Offices – I thought the Community Centre had closed the shutters are down so much.”

She claims the management group were evicted from the centre without any factual evidence of misconduct or breaches of Health and Safety and used the correct process through WBC’s complaints procedure, but claims the council failed to complete the process.
They complained to the Ombudsman about the failure to follow the Complaints Process, but they did not investigate as it was outside their remit.
She added that Blackbrook Community Association was not allowed to hold their meetings in the Centre despite having a written invitation to use the facility for activities etc.

Local Cllrs Graham and Diana Friend and Sue Emery say they are all working hard to resolve the issue.
Cllr. Emery added:” Fearnhead Management group has always been a very hard-working group who has always been dedicated to involving and empowering the immediate local community. Sadly, the current economy will be putting more and more residents in financial difficulties.
“I live in hope that these issues can be dealt with in a positive way and that we can all work together which can only benefit everyone involved and also the people who matter, which is our communities.”

Meanwhile, Warrington Borough Council’s chief executive, Prof Steven Broomhead MBE, said: “In 2019, we made the decision not to issue a licence for Fearnhead Management Group to occupy dedicated offices at the centre.
“This was after continued and lengthy negotiations and was to ensure the health, wellbeing and safety of our staff, volunteers, and centre users.
“We value our community spaces in Warrington and our staff work hard to ensure they are well-managed and provide benefits to the whole community.
“We understand how important this busy centre is within the local community and we expect all centre users, volunteers and staff to comply with health and safety requirements and our code of conduct.
“We will continue to work with community groups, residents and the parish council, to ensure an appropriate and diverse programme of activities and events is in place at the centre.”
Earlier this year Padgate Community Association were evicted from Padgate Community Centre by the council after failing to agree new terms.