A Bermondsey-based community hall, which couples as the base of the local scouts group, risks closure as all but one TRA member steps down.
Magdalen Community Hall is currently run by residents of the Purbrook, St Saviours and Aylwin Estates – but it could face closure as most of the committee are due to step down from their posts.
This will leave estate resident Kyle Simmons as the last remaining TRA member – of an association that covers 760 homes.
And Kyle told the News of his concern that there hasn’t yet been any sign of anyone stepping up. “If a new cohort is not elected, there will be no one to run the hall or TRA and the hall will have to close,” he said.
He is urging that the word be spread to save their hall, which he described as a ‘beacon for the community.’
“It’s really important we keep it going,” he explained.
“Magdalen Hall has been a beacon for the community to resolve issues and make estate residents’ voices heard to the council, so they see the policies have an impact on real people.”
Its closure would also mean a local scouts group would have no home.
Alice Nicholas, leader of 20th Bermondsey Scouts said this would be detrimental to the most vulnerable members – who could have to ‘leave.’
“It’s the group closest to central London, so our kids come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds,” Alice said.
“If the hall closes down there is nowhere else we could go that would be near central London, and the distance to travel for some of our scouts would be too great, and they would unfortunately have to leave scouting, which would be a great shame.”
And she added that if the hall remained open, there was a fear the alcohol licence might be taken away – which would limit the chances to rent out the hall – losing vital revenue for the community.
The News put this to the council, who said: “Magdalen Hall is one of very few TRA facilities which has a full bar and as such it requires licensing to trade in the normal way.” However, they failed to confirm whether there was any plan to ban licensing to TRA halls.
Kyle commented that the hall was once a well-used and vibrant space, as well as a source of revenue to be put back into the community. “A new committee could mean it’s finally used to its full potential.”
Councillor Darren Merrill, the cabinet member for council housing, said: “The council supports the TRA elections, and the resident involvement team will actively work with residents to recruit and elect their own members to self-manage. Whilst the council is strictly neutral in relation to who gets elected, it remains supportive of the Magdalen Hall TRA and its ongoing work on behalf of local tenants and leaseholders. We sincerely hope that people will come forward as candidates to continue the great work Magdalen Hall TRA has done for its tenants to date.”
In the meantime, elections are fast approaching (May 31) and people are being encouraged to get their nominations in.
There will be a meeting on Thursday, May 25 at Magdalen Hall for estate residents and those nearby where everything will be explained. Each nominee needs at least fifteen votes from people on the estate to be elected.
All residents get one vote per position and there are eight to fill.
Anyone wanting to know more about how to get involved may contact Kyle by email.