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SPOT WHAT'S MISSING…
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The gap to be filled with a new boiler
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…give up? - Well it's the gap left by the
old boiler which has now been removed. Filling this gap with
a new boiler (well new to us anyway!) is the next step to
getting the pool ready for use again. Something we are working
on as quickly as possible.
The good news is that we had a similar gap in the filter/pump
room which can now be filled thanks to a grant of £5,000 we
have just received from the Nottinghamshire Community Foundation
(NCF).
It will cost in total about £14,000 to get a new boiler in
and working and we're looking for donors and sponsors to help
with this cost. So if you think that you, or someone you know,
or your company could help then please get in touch. Thanks!
With all this talk about the pool it can be easy to forget
the other important developments at TLC. Not least all the
new activities - check them out!
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As for the centre itself, at the moment our priority is to
make the foyer area comfy and a place you will want to sit
and relax. We have also secured grants to put in disabled
toilets and improve access to the meeting rooms
Also in the pipeline is more gym equipment, more activities
and, by the summer, a new Therapy Room!
New community role for Lenton Leisure Centre
26th May
Lenton Leisure Centre, and the adjoining
Lenton Community Centre, have been sold to create a new and
exciting community facility for residents of all ages in the
area.
Nottingham City Council has agreed, subject
to final legal arrangements, to sell the whole site for £10;
the new owner will be The Lenton Centre Ltd, a charitable
company formed by Lenton Community Association. The sale is
the result of detailed negotiations between the new company
and the City Council over the past year, following the Council's
decision to close the Leisure Centre as part of its Leisure
Centre Transformation Programme.
The nominal sale price which the City Council has suggested
helps to provide The Lenton Centre Ltd with a solid asset
which will help it to raise community and commercial funding
to support its planned improvement programme, including the
re-opening of the swimming pool.
Councillor Leon Unczur, Nottingham City Council's Portfolio
Holder for Culture, Community Services and Tourism, said the
company's proposals were a good option: 'I believe the Centre
will now move on and everyone involved has been extremely
patient. I am very pleased with this outcome and I hope they
and the local community are too.'
Jenny Hills, Chair of the Centre's Trustees, expressed her
delight at the result: 'We are very pleased that the City
Council, by selling us the building, is empowering the local
community to provide leisure facilities for the people of
Lenton and the wider city. We recognise that, as a community
trust, we have a great deal of work ahead and ask local people
to help in any way they can. To begin with we will be opening
our doors for people to enjoy the fitness suite, holistic
therapies and our refreshment facilities in a relaxed and
friendly atmosphere. Once these are established then we will
be ready to refurbish and reopen the swimming pool.'
Office refurbishment
2nd May
Work got underway last week to renovate the offices at the
Lenton Centre.
Builders moved in on April 24 to get the project started.
And although they have only been there for a week, operations
manager Andy Anderton was optimistic about the progress so
far.
He said: "Everything's going according to plan. "The builders
are cracking on with it at a good pace." So far walls have
been knocked down in the reception area and on the top floor
in preparation for the lift installation. In addition, a dust
sheet has been put up to protect the community centre part
of the building.
The work on the offices, which is expected to cost around
£90,000, should be completed by July this year. When
they are finished the offices will be used for rental, counselling,
training and meetings.
The new offices are the first stage of the Lenton Centre's
ambitious renovation programme - refurbishment of the gym
and the swimming pool is set to follow. Work has already started
in a small way at the gym - the University of Nottingham's
estate management team moved in last Thursday to put in new
lights.
Despite these works, the Centre will be open for business
as usual, as far as possible.
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Lenton Lent a Hand
On Friday 7th April a 20-strong team of staff from the Student
Registry Department of Nottingham University descended on
TLC.
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They came to transform the gardens at the
front of the building and to decorate two therapy rooms. Their
hard work and commitment paid off.
Representatives of the university team visited TLC just before
Christmas to assess what work was needed. They then went away
and set about fundraising for money and equipment to complete
the tasks. About £500 was raised together with donations
of paint from B&Q, vouchers from Wilkinson’s and plants and
shrubs from the University’s own Estates Department.
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Team organisers, Clare Wakeling and Louise
Botterill, expressed the enthusiasm of everyone involved in
the day’s work. “ It gives us a chance to work with people
in the local community who we wouldn’t normally get an opportunity
to work or be in contact with,” said Clare as she sorted out
the painting equipment.
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Everyone at TLC is delighted with the results
and wishes to thank the 20 cheerful and energetic volunteers,
the University for letting their staff have the day off (
to work even harder) and all those who sponsored or contributed
to the very successful event.
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Progress on development
Residents heard the latest on ambitious plans to refurbish
The Lenton Centre at a public open evening on February 27.
Work on the new office suites is about to get underway after
the team secured a grant from Social Ent erprise East Midlands,
with the aim of getting them ready for business by July this
year.
The team is currently applying for funding for the refurbishment
of the gym and the pool. Work will hopefully be starting on
the gym in a few months time.
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Carl Towner is talking to Debra Shaw of Social Enterprise
East Midlands
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There has also been good news for the centre's children and
young people project, which has recently received a generous
lottery grant.
And staff from the University of Nottingham are helping out
with a new IT system.
The Lenton Centre team are always on the lookout for volunteers
- so whether you want to get involved
with fundraising or day-to-day management, please get in touch.
There are also plans for an auction to raise money for the
project. All contributions are welcome - even if it's just
an hour of your time to do someone's washing up!
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The Lenton Centre chairwoman Jenny Hills
said: "The secret to our success is the support of the community.
"We want to be a natural hub of activity in Lenton."
Trustee Carl Towner added: "When the council was running the
centre it was the best-kept secret in the city - but now that
needs to change!"
If you would like to get involved as a volunteer
at the Lenton Centre please call
0115 941 2422
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I love Lenton - art competition
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"I love Lenton" is the message proclaimed on the winning
T- shirt designed by Savannah Booth of Edna G. Olds Primary
School and entered in The Lenton Centre's Christmas Party
competition.
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The winner in the older age group was Haleema
Sadia. Children from Lenton Primary School were invited to
design mugs, and the winners were Petra Taylor, and Bita Ysalkdeh,
both with lovely colourful designs. It was very difficult
to choose winners from the designs received because they all
showed such talent. Thanks to all of you who entered!
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9th January 2006 - New Operations Manager
Andy Anderton previously worked at the Lenton Leisure Centre
as a Duty Officer for 15 years. When the City Council decided to
close the Centre, he left and started work in a bank.
During the year that the Centre was closed he kept thinking that
people could use the Centre and he was always asking what would
become of the Centre in the future.
"When I saw the job advertised I saw how my dreams
could come true and the Centre could start being used again" he
said.
Now back at The Lenton Centre in the position of
Operations Manager, whilst keeping a 'steady helm' on the current
activites taking place there he will also help oversee the phased
re-opening of the rest of the centre.
The first phase is to refurbish the offices and install a lift,
which will be finished within a few months. The next phase will
be to open a gym, a refreshment area and holistic therapy rooms
for the use of the Lenton community.
Then once this phase has settled down, hopefully followed by the
pool!
21st November 2005 - Open Evening
On 21st November The Lenton Centre held an Open
Evening to introduce its aims and dreams about the future development
of the Centre.
The main aims are to listen to the community and respond to their
needs. The Centre wants to provide a range of activities for health,
relaxation and learning and be self-sustainable in the long term.
In the future the community should be able to enjoy a well-managed,
clean and efficient centre that will be accessible, welcoming and
inclusive of all with a meeting place for all the local community,
available for their events. Activities will be provided to attract
local children and young people, for whom it will serve as a leisure,
cultural and artistic centre.
The last, but not least, aim is to improve employment prospects
for local people and to be a natural hub of activity in Lenton.
The dreams are that The Lenton Centre will attract people to facilities
and activities that enhance their well-being and will help to develop
a vibrant community. The Centre will offer the first point of contact
for residents and students, promoting harmony and wellbeing. Moreover,
we hope that the Lenton Centre will become renowned for being a
successful social enterprise, of which the local community and Nottingham
as a whole can be proud!
If you want to help the dreams come true, you can help as a volunteer.
There are many ways to get involved. You can work as a Finance Systems
Co-ordinator in the finance department, or be involved as a Gym
Business or Building Development Manager. If you consider yourself
a photographer or journalist we can offer you many opportunities
to help.
With the help of fundraisers and volunteers The Lenton Centre will
be able to offer all these facilities one day: a gym, two Health
Rooms, a hall, a large meeting room with kitchen facilities, two
small meeting rooms, four offices and an Atrium Reception/Café Area
as a meeting place.
20 July 2005: Sale of premises agreed by Council
Nottingham City Council has agreed, subject to
final legal arrangements, to the sale to The Lenton Centre of the
building housing Lenton Leisure Centre and the adjoining Lenton
Community Centre, for £10.
The sale is the result of detailed negotiations
between Lenton Community Association [now superseded by the Lenton
Centre] and the City Council that started a year ago after the council
announced it would have to close Lenton Leisure Centre.
We at the Lenton Centre are delighted with the
result:
We are very pleased that, after
long negotiations, the City Council is willing to sell us at a nominal
price the distinctive building which has housed the leisure centre
and the community centre.
By doing this, the City Council
is empowering the local community to preserve its heritage and to
help provide leisure activities for the people of Lenton and the
wider city.
We recognise that as a community
trust, we have a lot of work ahead in fundraising and refurbishing
the building and we will be glad of help.
To begin with we will be opening
our doors for people to enjoy the fitness suite, holistic therapies
and our refreshment facilities in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Once these are established we will be ready to re-open the swimming
pool.
For the full wording of the announcement, see Nottingham City Council's press release
Anyone wishing to consult the Council's portfolio
decision document (ref. 229, date 19/07/2005) can view it by visiting
the Council's open government website
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20 July 2005: What the sale
means in practice
There are a number of legal procedures to be followed
before the contract is finalised and the sale of the premises completed.
However, the firm prospect of a sale allows the
Lenton Centre to start applying for funding to refurbish the Centre.
Although the 'Leisure' side of the building will
continue to remain closed to the public while the refurbishment
is carried out, the 'Community' side of the building remains
open, and continues to offer a range of facilities and activities
as before. These include the Out of School Activities Project,
room hire, councillors' surgery, etc. To find out more (if you don't
find the information you need in our website), ring (0115) 941 2422.
The Lenton Centre will be looking for volunteers
to help run the Centre. So don't forget to return to this site a
few weeks from now to find out what you can do!
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21 June 2005: LCA becomes
TLC
At the well-attended AGM of the Lenton Community
Association on 21st June, members duly voted the Association out
of existence, transferring the assets to the Lenton Centre (TLC)
and approving the appointment of members to the board of management
of TLC. (The reasoning behind this resolution was set out in an
earlier news update, below.)
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June 2005: Read the Business
Plan, see the picture
The Business
Plan for the Lenton Centre (PDF document) can now be downloaded
from this site for viewing with Adobe Acrobat Reader. A shorter
Executive Overview can be browsed directly
within this site.
You can also see an artist’s
impression of how the atrium will look.
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June 2005: LCA to become TLC
The important date to note this month is Tuesday
21st June, when the AGM of the Lenton Community Association will
take place at 19:00 (7pm).
At the AGM, members will be asked to approve
a resolution transferring the assets of Lenton Community Association
(an unincorporated association) to The Lenton Centre (a new company).
A suitable company limited by guarantee has already
been formed, called The ‘Lenton Centre’. The company form of structure
provides an important level of protection from personal liability,
should the organisation ever find itself in financial difficulties.
While we have no current concerns on this score, we do believe that,
with the extra responsibilities, it is a worthwhile move to be on
the safe side and it is much easier to do it now rather than later.
It also follows the trend in the charity sector generally and is
a structure more acceptable to an increasing number of funders.
If the proposal is agreed, all agreements, any
outstanding debts, paid staff, and all assets such as equipment,
computers and furniture will be transferred from LCA to the new
company. Everything will then continue as before, but through the
new company. In practice all that will be obvious to most people
is the change of name.
However, because it is a new organisation, all
existing members must be invited to join its board of management
and, similarly, all existing general members of LCA must be invited
to become members of the new company. Forms for application for
membership of the new company will be available at the meeting,
which will take place at the Lenton Community Centre (Willoughby
Street, Lenton - NG7 1RQ).
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May 2005: Residents' Update
27.04.2005
On Wednesday 27th April 2005, an evening
meeting was held at the Crocus Community Café, where local
residents could find out about the current position and future direction
of the Lenton Centre.
The meeting was opened by the Chair
of the Lenton Community Association, Jenny Hills, who welcomed those
attending and read out the mission statement of the Lenton Centre:
'The Lenton Centre will be a
social enterprise at the heart of an increasingly vibrant community,
attracting and welcoming people from all generations and cultures
to a bright, well-designed environment to enjoy a holistic range
of learning and health-giving leisure activities.
'A friendly sanctuary, the Centre
will offer a first point of contact for residents and students,
promoting harmony and wellbeing.'
Carl Towner, Project Leader of the
Lenton Centre, explained the significance of the Business Plan which
was produced largely by his efforts and presented to the City Council
in January. The Business Plan was of real value to those taking
the project forward as well as to the Council in that it had to
show:
The good news is that the Business
Plan has been accepted by the Council. However, this is not the
end of the story; it simply takes us on to the next stage, which
requires further effort!
Hence the need to employ the services
of a consultant, Tim Court, to work out in detail how to proceed
step by step to turn the plan into reality. Tim explained that a
limited company, The Lenton Centre Ltd, would be formed to run the
Centre, and at this point the Lenton Community Association would
cease to exist. The aim would be to re-open the 'dry' side first,
and go on to re-open the 'wet' side once the 'dry' side had established
its viability. It is important to remember that nearly every swimming-pool
in the country operates at a loss, so how could we sustain a pool
in Lenton? Unlike the Council, the Lenton Centre could be eligible
for Social Enterprise funding. The aim would be to invest in the
Centre to build up the 'dry' side, with a range of activities that
would bring in revenue to support the 'wet' side. Hence the 'wet'
side would be opened only when the 'dry' side had proved itself
– this might not be till 2007.
Pete Nelson, speaking for the students
of Lenton, pointed to the way the students were already providing
a volunteer workforce at the Crocus Café, and could be expected
to do the same for the Lenton Centre. He also reported that there
would be a demand for the Centre as a venue for live music.
Susan Griffiths displayed the architectural
plan drawn up by Allan Joyce, Architects. The main features of the
refurbished building would be:
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With a single entrance, it would no longer
feel like two halves – the foyer beyond the current ticket-window
would become an atrium with access to the 'community centre'
half as well as the 'pool and fitness suite' half.
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The fitness suite would be extended (by using
some of the existing garage space) so that it could accommodate
more equipment, more widely spaced.
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The building would be developed progressively
'from front to back'.
Marion Spencer gave her vision of
a hydrotherapy centre based on the existing pool, which would be
welcomed by doctors at the QMC wishing to prescribe hydrotherapy
for their patients.
It is everyone’s wish that the pool
would continue to provide recreational and health-giving swimming
for local people, and also be used for learning, which is what the
pool was originally endowed for. So there will be further work to
do on the options for the pool, and their practicality, in the months
to come.
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