PRENTICE CENTRE CLOSURE CONFIRMED

West Granton Community Trust Management Committee Decision

WGCT has issued the following statement:

At a meeting of the West Granton Community Trust Management Committee on Monday 18^th June, the decision made on 27^th June to wind up the Trust was confirmed.  This will mean the permanent closure of the Prentice Centre.  

It has been reported in the press that the City of Edinburgh Council were considering providing us with a one off grant of £50,000, however with no confirmation of the process to secure this funding nor the timescales involved, the Trust has been left with no alternative but to proceed with the winding up of the Trust. 

This is to ensure the orderly transfer of the premises to another charitable organisation and to meet our responsibilities to our tenants, staff and the community. 

This is in line with the Constitution of the Trust and the legal requirements associated with the closure of an organisation with charitable status.

The Management Committee would like to thank our loyal members for their support over the years and assure them that we have done everything within our power to avoid this situation. 

Given our current financial situation and with no guarantee of long-term funding for staff and overheads, we can no longer operate as a Trust.

Following the suspension of activities at the Prentice Centre on 1 July, there will be no further access for community use.  Staff will remain on site until mid-October to care for the building and to manage the process of winding up the Trust.

A sad day indeed for staff, management committee, members, patrons and the wider North Edinburgh community …