“It’s a lifeline”: Caddington community centre at risk as council looks for land buyer

The Heathfield Centre, in Hyde Road, may be forced to shut its doors if a buyer is found for the land.

The centre has been helping the village community since 2008, when the Heathfield Lower School closed.

Central Beds Council says it’s working ‘closely’ with councillors and the charity housed in the centre – and added it was “conscious” of the needs of the community.

Jane Payton has been volunteering with Heathfield Friends since the school closed. She has been in the village for 47 years and was a founding member of Good Neighbours scheme, which started in 2009.

She said: “It is primarily a phone line that people can ring if they want help with something like you would a neighbour. We don't do big jobs: We do lifts, we do shopping, we do odd jobs.”

This scheme soon grew to support the needs of the community, and the Heathfield Centre was used regularly for coffee and chat mornings, serving as a place to meet and a social hub.

Jane explained: “As we've developed, we've been increasingly worried about the number of people in the village who are elderly, often living on their own, and getting isolated.

“People who've been on their own all weekend can't wait for Monday morning to get out and come along and have a chat with their friends and meet new people. We sometimes have over 70 people there, occasionally more.”

Dave Stoner, a committee member of Caddington Care, a voluntary organisation committed to helping the people of the village, said: “We don't try to make money. A tea or coffee and biscuits is £1. A piece of cake is 50p – just to pay the costs.

“The people who generally go to the coffee mornings, they're regulars. They go every week, and they'll sit at a table. They've got their group of friends with whom they go and have a chat. We've got a set of drivers who drive quite a few people and give them a lift because they can't get there on their own.”

The centre hosts scores of events every week, from bingo and exercise classes to men’s and toddler groups, and puts on regular amateur dramatics plays.

The Heathfield Centre also doubles as a polling station during election time and is well served by nearby bus stops.

Jane said: “I'm pretty sure that we make a big difference to the queue at the doctor's surgery, and to the referrals to social services and even to housing. Because we try to help people maintain themselves in their own homes. We do little jobs. We don't do big building jobs, but little bits and pieces to help them feel safe.”

One man, who was struggling to access his redundancy pay, was helped by the service and got his money. The centre also hosts police talks, parish council and consultation meetings, and scouts clubs.

Jane said: “I think our main problem with Central Beds is that they don't acknowledge anything that we're doing, not that we've heard of anyway. They don't see it as having any value, financially, to them.”

The centre sits on land owned by Central Bedfordshire Council, which plans to sell the site, including the former school and a conservation area.

Originally, the land was being sold under vacant possession, forcing the centre out, but this has since changed. CBC has only agreed to allow continued use until the site is sold, with no guarantee for the future.

Dave has challenged the council about the sale.

He said: “Central Beds have agreed that we can stay in until it's been sold, but then it's up to the buyer if he allows us to carry on using the hall or not. We have gained some time, but we haven't gained any commitment.”

Cllr Steve Watkins, executive member at Central Bedfordshire Council for business, housing and public assets, said: “We are working closely with our local Ward Members, Caddington Parish Council and the charity that currently operates from the Heathfield Centre. We are very conscious of the local sensitivities around the centre and the needs of the community.

“The current plan is to sell the whole site, supporting the refurbishment of the community element of the former school buildings. The Heathfield Centre is also on a conservation area, and there are development restrictions that come with that.”

Dave and other members have suggested the site be split into two, with the school on one side and the centre and conservation land on the other.

He claimed: “CBC are wanting to sell it because they want money. My strong feeling at this point is that they should split the site. They should be cut in half, so you've got Heathfield Centre, the building, with this grass area in front, and then you've got a huge area with a field, plus a bit of land.”

Jane compared the centre to a "security blanket”, saying: “It’s that they know there's going to be somebody that they can talk to. That it is a vital thing and they would really, really miss it.”

Despite their ward councillors being supportive of the centre, the council is being asked to do more.

Jane said: “We are putting in a bid to have the centre recognised as a social asset, which would mean, if we're successful, that when it comes up for sale, we would have six months to raise the money to buy it. There are lots of ifs here because we don't know if we're going to get this recognition.”

“Our hands have been completely tied since 2008 because Central Beds have owned the building. We have maintained it, kept it clean, removed the rubbish, and done lots of small running repairs. They have stepped in where the building needed other stuff done, which would be down to us ultimately, yeah, but if it's ours, then we know what we're dealing with. But we've been our hands have been completely tied because we can't do anything significant,

Cllr Watkins added: “We are supporting the charity who are currently using the centre to look at other local amenities where user groups can re-locate to, if only in the short term. No final decision has been taken, and we will keep everyone informed of any developments - every step of the way.”