Acton Town Hall

Angie visited the Priory Centre in Acton to view the one day exhibition of Council plans for the refurbishment of Acton Town Hall. In particular, she was interested to see plans for accommodating all the community groups currently housed in the Priory Centre, who will be moved across to the Town Hall. She met with Julie Saunders, Director of Theatre Studio West, who contacted her about her concerns that the new development will short-change the groups that have been based at the Priory Centre until now.She pointed out to Angie that the space allocated for community services in the newly refurbished Town Hall in no way matches what they enjoy at the moment, and will likely prove unworkable. She also pointed out that it can only be reached by stairs, making it difficult for many people to access. But their biggest worry at the moment is that plans for the Priory Centre, which include building a new primary school there, may mean that the groups are pushed out of the Priory Centre before their new home in the Town Hall is actually ready.

Angie said, "It would be unacceptable to break a promise made to the groups in the Priory Centre that they will not be required to move until their new home is ready – a promise is a promise and should be respected. Looking at the plans, I do think that Julie has a point about the amount of space being made available. It does not look sufficient to me, compared with what they enjoy at the moment. Asking them to box and cox with other organisations in the Town Hall is going to make life very complicated. These groups offer a wide variety of support services and are much valued. Even though they have to be moved, it should be ensured that they can continue to serve the community as they always have done."

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