Community project needs help with council leased property

[Mrs Huggett]

Hello there, we really hope someone can help us, we have used a council owned sports pavillion for the last 6 years, as a base for our steel pan music lessons, the building was derelict and we did all the work to make it usable, because of a couple of complaints re noise the council are now being very nasty, and are trying to force us out. They have sent us a e-mail stating that they now want keys to the building within 7 working days, or they will change the locks. We teach 60 children (not all at once) and these kids are going to lose out if they cant continue. can the council ask for keys, is there some law that will protect us due to the fact that we have used the building and paid rent for the last 6 years. Please anybody try and help us, any info would be great!

[Joa]

Have you got lease documents? What are the dates with regards to the periods of lease? Do you pay rent for the use of this building? Are you a charitable organisation? Do you know a local councilor?

I am afraid I am not an expert in this situation, but I am sure someone will come along shortly who may be more helpful.
In the meantime, I am sure you though of it; contact local press, make fuss about "Every Child Matter" agenda , would there be any scope for for highlighting vulnerability/ethnic minority/ disenfranchisement?

[Mrs Huggett]

We have a rolling license, whatever that is, we have already appeared in the local press and on BBC Radio London Morning News, and on the local BBC news at 6p.m. This was back in october last year, and we are still fighting to get our hours re instated to 20 per week, (they have cut us down to five, by e-mail no warning or time given to make changes to our classes), and also the council sent a one line e-mail telling us they are increasing our rent from £400 to £6000 with immediate effect. We asked that we be given 1 extra hour on the 2 days we are allowed in so that we could carry on teaching the younger children and the council have simply taken away the hour on those days at the other end, so now we have adults who can't come! AND they now say we are not allowed access to the building at weekends, which means no more gigs! (we hire a luton van to get our pans from a to b) If they had said that before xmas then they would have had a very empty slot in the town centre xmas entertainment spectacular, as it was on a saturday !!! Anyone had a similar experience or knows about the law re this fiasco, please help!

[Mrs Huggett]

Also, just to clarify your other questions, we have had support from a local shadow councillor, but they seem to be scared of the ruling majority, and the kids who come to us are from a wide range of social and racial backgrounds, and some have issues such as autism auspergers and ADHD. Go to you tube enter comets steel in search box if you want to know what we are about!

[Joa]

I am appalled by your story - don't these idiots realise that focusing only on income they are storing up problems for future?

Anyway; I know you have done a lot media-wise, but did you have a lawyer to look into it? Forgive me if I am asking obvious questions, but I don't know the case.

[Mrs Huggett]

Thanks for your support at least others may be more likely to read my post if its had some hits! I found a solicitor that is very close to the project leaders workplace, She is going to ring them in the morning. Also looking into freedom of information act because the council have held meetings re us and the building without us being informed, so we may find out if they have a hidden agenda.

[Joa]

You should be really commended for your fight- people rarely do things for community anymore. fingers crossed- let us know how it develops!

[GlasweJen]

Hi Mrs H, I'm afraid I don't know the legalities of this but I have been in a similar experience before. The community centre where we had tap lessons wanted us out because of the noise we made with our shoes. They put the rent up, stopped us using half the rooms and banned us from wearing our tap shoes in the building.

My dance teacher had all the kids sign a petition and then set up a separate one for people in the community. On our petition we all wrote what benefit the tap class had for us and what we'd be doing on a Friday night if we didn't have the dance school.

She then wrote a copy of our story to the local newspaper, when it was printed she sent the paper off along with a letter to local lawyers asking for help. One lawyer had a daughter who had been through the programme and stepped in to negotiate with the council.

Not only did we get the centre back at our original rate we also got the old stage area cleared up with nice new fittings so that we could hold our productions in our community.

Good luck with this, projects like yours give kids something to do with their lives and keep communities safe.

[Mrs Huggett]

Thanks, it seems that lots of councils like to try and disrupt any good work that people try to do with local kids! Our most urgent question at the moment is the issue with the keys, do we have to let them have a set?Or can we tell them to sod off!!

[MATTYFEZ]

Do they not have to set up some kind of sound measuring equipment before they can say that its noise polloution/anti-social noise?

I know its council owned, and they probably have some rules in thier agreement with your club, but surely if there is nothing specific about noise in the agreement then the usual domestic rules regarding noise/environmental health are valid? or maybe some kind of commercial rules apply, with it being a club, either way, theres worse things to listen to than steel pans, I find them quite soothing.

If I were you I would certainly be caling the local newspapers to get your story out, with local autorities doing so little to stop "yob" culture, and activley stopping your music club they are compounding the problem.

Good luck to you.

[Mrs Huggett]

The last "official complaint" made to the council noise team was the day before Notting Hill Carnival 2006!!! One person has taken it on themselves to ring the councilors direct, in fact some of our supporters who live in the same row of houses have told us that someone was trying to get up a petition but they didn't put any name on the letter they sent round, if the BBC can't find anyone who wants us out when they go round knocking on doors then what are the council up to? Once again IF anyone can answer our very urgent question, do we have to give them the keys (to the doors that we bought and fitted, because there were none before we took over the building!!!). Or is there some sort of property law with us being in situ for the last six years?

[GlasweJen]

I honestly don't know, it all depends on the contract in this case.

I'm not sure about this but technically you could always remove the doors as they are yours and you shouldn't be expected to just leave them, doors don't come cheap.

[GlasweJen]

I just realised that sounded so east end of glasgow-ish but if they're your doors and your locks then bloody well take them, it's not as if the council have done anything to warrant getting free doors when they bumped your rent from £400 to £6000 and tried to kick you out in one fell swoop. I'm not sure what your obligations are re. getting other doors but if the building came with no doors then i think you're quite within your rights to return the building in the same condition as you got it.

[Mrs Huggett]

Don't know if we could handle smearing excrement on the walls of the toilet, and filling it up with same then shoving a fire extinguisher into it at a jaunty angle!!! We could hire the local youths to come and do the graffiti again, they could finish off with breaking all the windows, flooding the kitchen and smashing up the walls and ceilings a bit. Then we could pop out to see if we can find any used drug needles and tastefully arrange them around the building, and then we could take our doors off and put back builders board in their place, badly fitting a padlock that even a two year old could remove with one hand tied behind their back, then they would have the building back in its original state!!! Hopefully someone out there knows what we can do about the key situation before Friday PLEASE!!

[GlasweJen]

Ah now, we can't go about causing damage, I wouldn't recommend that. I wonder if aequites might know about this, i'll drop him a PM for you.

[Mrs Huggett]

Thanks, we would never cause all that damage, but that really is what the building was like. We have got hold of an organization called law works who have solicitors around the country who will do pro bono work for groups like us, but we have no idea when we will hear from them, the person we spoke to is very interested in the case and she is hopeful that she can get a solicitor on to it straight away. Fingers crossed!

[Mrs Huggett]

We have a solicitor in place via Law Works! Hopefully they will be able to help, it usually takes three weeks to get one but as we have an urgent matter they have pulled out all the stops. I will let you know how things turn out, many thanks for your support.