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Community hub fears for future over funding doubts

Robby West & Neve Gordon-Farleigh
BBC News, Norfolk
Martin Giles/BBC Shonette Mooney. A woman with short blonde hair. She is wearing a green polo top and green jumper. She is looking into the camera and is smiling.Martin Giles/BBC
Shonette Mooney manages the community hub and says the service will only be able to run for another 12 months if council funding is cut

Volunteers and members of a community hub that has run for almost four decades say they fear for its future if council funding is cut.

Dereham Meeting Point in Norfolk began as a small tea room offering people over 55 and those with disabilities the opportunity to socialise.

It receives a subsidy of £30,000 a year from Norfolk County Council to support running costs.

Centre manager Shonette Mooney said the hub had a "huge impact" on members and carers, adding: "In the real world we would only last 12 months without that assistance."

Martin Giles/BBC Older people sitting around a table playing a game with numbers on boardsMartin Giles/BBC
Dereham Meeting Point gives members and volunteers the chance to get together in a warm and welcoming environment

The county council said no decision had been made on the subsidy it paid towards the service, but costs were reviewed annually.

The charity has more than 100 members and is run by a team of four members of staff and a group of volunteers.

Council funding started as an annual grant but was now a top-up grant instead.

While members' yearly fees have already increased from £20 to £60, the charity said that without help from the council, it would lose up to £35,000.

Ms Mooney added: "As manager, it means the world to me, and to think these people are going to be left with nowhere to go - and the support not only the staff have shown them... but the volunteers - is just heartbreaking."

Martin Giles/BBC Margaret Rushmore. A lady who is holding a ceramic mug and is looking at the camera. She is wearing a green cardigan and a white and green stripey top. She is also wearing glasses.Martin Giles/BBC
Margaret Rushmore says she would be "devastated" if the service had to close its doors

Margaret Rushmore, 92, first stepped foot into Dereham Meeting Point to enquire about painting classes just before the Covid-19 lockdown.

"It means everything," she said.

"It's a reason to get up in the morning... I have met so many lovely people.

"I would be devastated. I don't want to think about it."

Alison Thomas, Conservative councillor and Norfolk County Council's cabinet member for adult services, said the authority was working with the charity to assess how much support it would need for the coming financial year.

"We do make a £30,000 payment to support their annual running costs, as a subsidy, which we review annually," she said.

"This review only relates to payments made to Dereham Meeting Point as Norfolk County Council does not fund any other organisation in this way.

"NCC will be working over the next few weeks with Dereham Meeting Point to assess and understand what level of support is required, to assess what can be done to support them beyond April 2025."

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