https://www.facebook.com/groups/savecheshamhouselancing
Launch of Save Chesham House campaign
Further to my previous posts on my Facebook page about the proposed closure of Chesham House on Tuesday I hosted a meeting with representatives from Royal Voluntary Service who own the property, together with Lancing councillors. We asked them why they had decided to close the centre; when they had made the decision and was it purely based on financial reasons; what proposals they were making about finding alternative homes for the many services carried on there and a whole host of other questions.
I have to say that their responses were rather ‘lacking’ to say the least and I have now asked for an urgent meeting with the Chief Executive of the national charity and the people who actually make the decisions and have more information. I was particularly alarmed that they have no plans to put out even a press release notifying the wider community about their plans and the reasons for closure, despite the fact that Chesham House is very much a valued Lancing asset and many people have contributed to it over the years. At this stage they are simply notifying staff, volunteers and service users, although most have found out through the grapevine before receiving any official notice. Indeed, I am told the original building was donated to the charity by one of the local churches and many legacies from local people have helped keep it going.
Here are the headlines from our conversation:
* They could not give us details of the finances of the centre and whether it was making a loss or a surplus. In the past Chesham House have actually paid a rent to RVS from the revenue they have generated from the activities there. We have requested this information. Lottery grants and legacies have been used to set up services like the Vintage Tea Rooms which have helped Chesham House to generate a profit in the past.
* This appears to be a stand-alone sale rather than part of an overall rationalisation of the charity’s 102 services across the country services. RVS owns very few properties outright, so this looks like an attempt to sell-off the site for development to maximise the proceeds to go into central coffers to make up for shortfalls elsewhere.
* No discussions have been held with local councils or other groups about who might take on any or all of the services operating from Chesham House if the closure does go ahead. Surely that should have been investigated first as staff have been issued with redundancy notices for the end of March? As it is there are currently only 3 part time staff contracted for a total of just 31 hours per week.
* Managers seem to claim that lots of activities had been going on during the lockdown closure whilst volunteers and staff have told us that they made many suggestions for running services for vulnerable users locally, such as hot meal deliveries, but all these were rejected by CVS. We were told that this was due to health and safety concerns, which seem implausible given how well so many other local organisations stepped up to the plate when needed.
* Chesham House has had service contracts with commissioners like West Sussex County Council to run services, but this ended last year. We were not told why or what are the prospects of attracting future such income streams.
* We challenged them on what had happened to various legacies given to Chesham House in the last few years including during the pandemic. We were assured that if they had been donated to Chesham House the money would be retained for local services. Given that they currently have no plans to retain a local building and the future of all the services is up in the air it is difficult to see how this will actually happen.
We recognise that all charities have had a tough time during the pandemic, but it is not clear that this is a decision that has been made purely on the basis of the impact of the lockdown on the charity’s finances, less still because of the financial position of Chesham House itself. Paid staff have been pared back to a minimum and the overheads during the pandemic have been minimal. There are two one-bedroom flats on the top of the property which until 2 years ago had been rented out and provided an income stream. These have been left empty since 2020 denying the charity valuable income. There was no explanation forthcoming for this. If funds are required to repair and maintain the building, then it has also been suggested that the flats could be sold and the resulting funds reinvested in maintaining Chesham House.
It is very disappointing that if RVS has financial difficulties that they did not first approach local councillors and other decision makers about exploring options for saving the centre. Last year when St John Ambulance announced they were closing a number of their properties because of a large debt problem exacerbated by the pandemic, they approached me and other local interested parties first. As a result, we were able to achieve a reprieve for the Southwick ST John HQ which is used for many local groups as well as first aid training, equipment storage, home to their ambulances etc.
They were facing a large bill for repairing the roof which they simply could not fund. Subsequently the community rallied around, events and publicity were organised and within a matter of months some £50,000 was raised and the hall was saved. The roof is currently being completely overhauled. It would have been helpful if a similar collaborative approach could have been taken here rather than a decision taken centrally which may be irreversible.
At this stage therefore we need urgently to find out:
* Whether the closure decision is final
* What is the financial position of Chesham House and what is needed to make it financially viable if it remains open
* What possible partnerships RVS would consider to maintain the building or relocate the services.
Where do we go from here?
If you have any useful information that will help the campaign please do add your comments on the Facebook page or email me directly at loughtont@parliament.uk Alternatively you can write to me at: Tim Loughton MP, 88a High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. BN43 5DB
Or contact one of the following councillors:
Mike Mendoza mike.mendoza@lancingparishcouncil.gov.uk
Steve Neocleous steve.neocleous@adur.gov.uk
Carol Albury carol.albury@adur.gov.uk
Ann Bridges ann.bridges@adur.gov.uk
Andy McGregor andy.mcgregor@adur.gov.uk
Rather than setting up a petition it would be much more powerful if people leave their details with comments about what Chesham House means to them and how they have benefitted from it and value it as a service user, volunteer or former staff member.
We are determined to do everything we can to save Chesham House so please help us to help Lancing and keep this valuable jewel in the crown of our village.