Holloway Neighbourhood Group faces axe after £60k cut to funding

Published: 17th June, 2011
by PETER GRUNER

ONE of the borough’s oldest charities working in a poor area of Holloway faces closure after a “devastating” cut of £60,000 to its annual funding.

Islington’s ruling Labour group, ignoring advice from its own officers, agreed this week to cut a grant to the Holloway Neighbourhood Group, which has been going for almost 40 years.

The news comes five days after volunteers from the project helped organise a successful street festival, involving more than 1,000 people, outside the group’s headquarters at the Old Fire Station community centre in Mayton Street.

Labour blamed stringent Government cuts that have forced them to make hard decisions.

However, the move is being “called in” by Town Hall opposition leader, Lib Dem Cllr Terry Stacy. 

He said: “The process and evaluation seems unfair. The officers support the project. They do excellent work. I think the Labour group should think again.”

The centre currently provides lunch and social club activities for more than 50 elderly people every week, as well as back-to-work programmes, IT and English classes, arts and crafts activities, film clubs and health workshops.

The group have worked with tens of thousands of local people since 1974, through activities including the Holloway Parents Group and the Stress Counselling Project. 

A trustee for the group, Charlotte Spencer, said: “It is very likely that we will have to cut many – quite possibly all – of the services we provide at the Old Fire Station. 

“This will be devastating for the thousands of people who rely on HNG and come through our doors every year.”

She called on the council to change its mind, pointing out: “We host the busiest exercise class in Islington, support minority groups and after-school clubs, engage with local businesses in the Nag’s Head Town Centre, go door-knocking with charity Help on Your Doorstep and have supported the neighbourhood arrangements and new ward partnerships.

“We have the support of over 40 volunteers and were the second community centre in the borough to be awarded the ‘visible’ quality standard for community organisations.”

Labour Cllr Paul Convery, executive member for regeneration, said he hoped that the cuts would not affect the work of the centre.

“If there is a risk of that we will do whatever we can to ensure its continuation. 

“It’s a hard decision but we have put a new four-year funding package which is different from the previous one. But we cannot fund everything.”