Volunteers will be required to replace staff at a north Liverpool community centre struggling to make ends meet after workers had to be let go. For more than 50 years, Orrell Park District and Community Association (OPDCA) has welcomed thousands of people through its doors.
Earlier this year, officials told the ECHO how in the face of financial difficulties, three part-time members of staff at the centre have been given notice that their employment will come to an end. John Manwell, chair of trustees, said there was enough money to get the site through until October but the longer-term picture wasn’t so clear.
£1,200 a month needed
Now in a fresh update shared online, Mr Manwell said around £1,200 a month must be found to keep the lights on at least. One of its former users is the Walton-based actor James Nelson-Joyce, who shot to mainstream attention starring as lead Michael Kavanagh in BBC crime drama This City Is Ours – for which he was nominated for a BAFTA.
There are around 100 users currently at OPDCA with knitting and reading groups, a zumba class and health and wellbeing events which are all organised by the staff. Liverpool Council contributes a small youth and community grant to the community centre, thought to be around £5,000 a year.
Trustees exploring options
The centre’s board of trustees have been “urgently exploring” possible options to keep the site afloat. Mr Manwell wrote an open letter to the community in May calling for ideas and suggestions to help keep the doors open.
In a letter shared on social media, Mr Manwell said: “Given the uncertainty of the finances, the trustees have reluctantly had to give notice of redundancy to the staff at the centre, and so our wonderful team will be leaving the centre in October. Liz, Margi and Sue have been amazing in the work they have done to support the groups and projects in the centre, and at the same time raising money to keep things going.
“It is a really sad moment that we are in this situation. The trustees and team are continuing to look at funding possibilities with the primary goal of keeping the centre open and available for local people.”
Volunteers needed
The update confirmed the centre would reopen after a summer break in September but would now require the help of volunteers for opening and locking as well as other support and administrative tasks.
It added: “To keep the building open and functional, with heating and lighting etc, the costs are around £1,200 per month.
“This is the first fundraising goal. The viability of the centre as a community facility will be very dependent on volunteers and the enthusiasm of users.”
The centre celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and Mr Manwell said there had been “several significant funding crises over those five decades.” He added: “The trustees, along with many enthusiastic local users, are determined to not give up at this point.
“We believe that this community of around 8,000 people around the centre benefit from the existence of the centre.”
