Locals and users of the Thames Ditton Centre for the Community are fighting Elmbridge Borough Council’s (EBC) plans to give up the running and management of the centre, arguing “local Residents' Association and Liberal Democrat Councillors are not supporting the views of local residents”. This is their view because Elmbridge Council (which is dominated by Liberal Democrats) are trying to close the centre by stealth as:
- It has not had a manager for the past four years
- The Centre is only allowed to be open two days a week and is not advertised or promoted
- It’s been left to decay for years so looks neglected and unloved
- The site is listed on their Local Plan for “18 residential units”
- In the recent review of Elmbridge Community Services, Thames Ditton was specified “not in the highest need”
This is all despite a range of groups, including Boomerang Bags and Men in Sheds, regularly using the centre. There is also a Dementia support group that operates out of the centre.
This morning, representatives from Thames Ditton Boomerang Bags, Men in Sheds, Bridge and Art groups – all based at Thames Ditton Centre for the Community – submitted a petition signed by over 1,200 Elmbridge residents calling for Elmbridge to abandon these plans and continue to run and manage the centre directly.
I fully support these calls and ask every local resident to join the campaign to save Thames Ditton Centre for the Community. At the recent Thames Ditton Farmers Market, located in the community centre car park, I signed the user groups’ petition. Add your name and help us to save our valued community centre here.
It’s important we all do this as the users of Thames Ditton are right to ask: “If this proposal goes through, what does the future hold for the other six Centres for the Community in Elmbridge?”.
