Community centre probe launched

OLDHAM COUNCIL CABINET
AN urgent investigation has been launched into the running of the Millennium Centre in Westwood which Cabinet members say has been a disaster from day one.

The community facility, in Featherstall Road, opened in 2002 and is owned by the council but leased to Oldham Bangladeshi Association.

It was funded through a mixture of grants from the lottery and European Regional Development Fund as well as money from the Single Regeneration Budget and Neighbourhood Renewal fund.

The main areas of concern are the governance arrangements and the management of financial relationships between the council and the centre.

There is also concern over the project management of the building process after an audit carried out in 2004 showed that the centre did not adhere to building regulations in relation to access for disabled people.

The centre, which is financed through income generated by its users, is managed by a board of directors appointed by the centre’s management company which is made up of council representatives and OBA members.

The board includes representatives from the OBA, the council, Westwood & Coldhurst Women’s Association, Oldham Bangladeshi Youth Voice and Voluntary Action Oldham.

Councillor Rod Blyth, Cabinet member for community safety and public protection, said: “The Millennium Centre has been a catalogue of disaster from start to finish.

“It is absolutely phenomenal that this project ever got off the ground.”

Oldham Council’s deputy leader Jackie Stanton added: “There have been concerns about this from the very beginning.

“It is not the fault of the Millennium Centre and it is not the fault of the council, things just weren’t set out right at the start.

“It is a valuable asset that should have been managed properly for the whole of the community it serves.”