Boscombe Centre For Community Arts

Cabinet Decision 20^th July 2011  

• B'mth Council has agreed in principle with Bournemouth 2026 to form a Community Land Trust to aid first time buyers to buy affordable homes.

• The Council intend to demolish the BCCA site – other than the 2 Victorian Listed rooms – to provide 14 houses.

•  The Council have offered us the 2 Victorian Listed rooms on the BCCA site for a community Hub to aid creative industries in Boscombe.

• The Council's commissioned report states the 2 rooms require £73,000 spent on them plus VAT to put in central heating, lighting, toilets, etc., and does not include costs to aligned with Fire Regulations and Disabled Access Regulations or to put in a reception/office area to enable use as a hub. We don't yet know the additional costs yet for:

1. an architect and surveyor's fees or builder's costs for this part of the work
2. works to comply with various Regulations
3. all costs above (£73K plus everything listed) BCCA Friends would have to find

We informed the Cabinet that financial projections for the running costs for 2 rooms - based on comparable local hire charges - and to include staff costs, insurance, maintenance, gas, phone, etc. – would:

• place outgoings at £70,000 per year
• with a maximum income (if it was hired out every session, every day of the year) at £30,400
• leaving a deficit year on year of £39,600
• even if outgoings were halved - which would put staff working below the minimum wage - we would still be in deficit of £4,600 year on year
• we stated that 2 rooms are not therefore a financially sustainable option we can accept
• we would need far more space to make the hub financially viable
• we stated we hope B’mth Council will be open to compromise

We also stated we are aware affordable housing for first time buyers is necessary, and also do hope that B’mth Council implements a Community Land Trust particularly if it is based on the original model by the Burlington Community Land Trust in Vermont, U.S.A., which is highly democratic.  However, the problems of Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO’s) are in Boscombe West – not East where the BCCA site is, so we hope that the Council will consider reducing the amount of houses on the site from 14 to allow the wider community to benefit.

We also stated that presently there are no facilities whatsoever for tourists, to aid businesses in the area, or for the residents.  We listed the some of the various facilities we wish to establish such as:  

• Community cinema
• Conference space – to draw business people to the area
• Theatre
• Fashion shows
• Auctions and antique fairs be to aid the struggling Boscombe shops and antique shops in Pokesdown
• Workshop space to make clothes and products from recycled material
• Community centre where artists, entrepreneurs, young and old can mingle and interact and create a real buzz in the area

We asked where will the children go from the new families that come into the area – on the streets where Boscombe’s children and young people play now to witness the drug taking and early alcohol consumption – and are drawn into becoming the next generation of problems?  We suggested that with the various programmes we wish to put in place we can attract tourists and residents can reinstate themselves as the visible signs of family and community.

Leader of the Council, Cllr. Peter Charon, stated that Council Officers would work with us to find how we could make 2 rooms financially viable. We await Council officers contacting us to arrange a meeting.

We are hopeful that once we meet with Council officers that a compromise might be reached. You can read the minutes of the 20^th July Cabinet meeting http://archive.bournemouth.gov.uk/Library/Committee_Meetings/CAB/Minutes/110720a.pdf