10:29am Thursday 6th October 2011
LATCHFORD residents are furious over plans to turn a community hub into housing.
Golden Gates Housing Trust (GGHT) proposes to return the community flat, on Knutsford Road, to housing stock after years of it being open to public use.
A number of groups, including a computer club, regularly use the venue which is also used as a base for Victoria Park Residents’ Association (VIPRA).
And last weekend the group took to the streets of Latchford to garner support from residents to keep the centre running.
Clr Maureen McLaughlin (LAB – Latchford West) said: “I am fighting this decision alongside VIPRA because I know that there are vulnerable people in this area that need a local base to access community support.
“I fully understand the housing need here in Warrington, but housing people with no access to local community support is not the answer. I have asked Golden Gates Housing Trust to delay its decision until alternative premises can be found.”
But GGHT says in a study of community flats funded by it that the Knutsford Road one was increasing in cost to operate with the space being used on a limited basis by a small number of residents.
The trust added that officers would help residents find alternative venues.
Peter Mercer, chief executive of GGHT, said: “I appreciate that our decision to return the community flat at Knutsford Road to the housing stock will have come as a disappointment to some, however we have to balance this against the cost of maintaining the facility, its use by the community and the increasing demand for our properties.
“We currently have more than 13,000 applicants on the waiting list for our properties and demand for housing has continued to increase in the current economic climate. ”
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