THE cost of hiring Williton's Red Cross centre is likely to rise following the sale of the building to West Somerset District Council. Organisations will also have to compete for meeting space with the authority as the council is planning to use the centre as a temporary meeting chamber following the forced closure of its planning offices. As reported in last week's Free Press, planning staff will be taking up residence in the existing council chamber until a permanent new home is found. On Monday, the council's cabinet approved the use of the centre for council meetings and paved the way for a survey to carried out to check the condition of the Killick Way building. A dedicated caretaker/cleaner would also be employed to manage bookings and undertake other duties. Councillors were told that, unlike the existing chamber, the centre largely met the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act legislation. However, there were concerns the centre would not be big enough to cope with well attended council meetings, such as planning, as it could only accommodate 40 officers and councillors together with just 15 members of the public. Council leader Cllr Steven Pugsley said he hoped plans to hold full council meetings in village halls around the district would alleviate some of the pressure but admitted conditions in the Red Cross Centre were "not terribly good". He said: "We will try to anticipate meetings where there is greater public interest but I can't guarantee we will get it right all of the time." A three-strong 'task and finish' group, made up of Cllrs Mary Crowley, deputy leader Cllr Bryan Leaker and Cllr Ann Foxhuntley, has spent the last month investigating how the building could be used. They recommended the current £10 per session charges should be increased to take account of the increased costs of running the building. They also concluded that stackable tables would have to be bought for councillors and officers attending meetings and the sound system currently installed in the existing chamber should be relocated. The Red Cross, which deemed the building surplus to its requirements following a shift in its focus nationally, has also asked to continue storing its medical loan equipment on site. Meanwhile, the council has pledged it will honour bookings made by community groups, where practicable, and that community use of the building will continue, wherever possible. But Williton Parish Council - which earlier this year had to abandon its hopes of buying the centre because of likely constraints in any future lease with the district authority, which owns the land on which the building stands - has voiced its concern over the impact of the sale. Parish councillors received a "courtesy note" from the Red Cross, outlining the charity's request to the district council to honour existing bookings. But Cllr Robin Venner said the letter did not contain what had been discussed between the charity and the council. "It is not the assurances that we asked the Red Cross to give us. It counts for nothing - the district council could knock the building down at any time." District and parish councillor Eddie May told Monday's cabinet he doubted the council would spend any money on the centre as he believed it would be "flattened in a couple of years". Council chief executive Tim Howes did not confirm or deny Cllr May's statement, but simply stated: "It will link back to the regeneration of Williton."
