Insolvency-hit Newcastle trust hands back community centres
Three community centres are to be handed back to a city council after the charity running them announced it was folding.The Newcastle Community Asset Trust (NCAT) managed community hubs in Fawdon, Cowgate, and Blakelaw, with the latter also housing a post office which had to temporarily close.The charity blamed rising costs, reduced funding and the long-term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic for its "painful" decision.Newcastle City Council confirmed all three centres would remain open and "accessible to tenants and residents as normal".
The trust, which is entering insolvency, said the Blakelaw post office had to close on Friday.A Post Office spokesman said they did not know whether it would reopen, said the Local Democracy Reporting service.
'Upsetting news'
A spokesman for NCAT said despite attempts, the charity had not been able to reverse "the long-term decline in our finances"."We appreciate this is very upsetting and not what anyone would want to hear, however we are working closely with Newcastle City Council to try to ensure continuity for the buildings and their users," they added.The council said tenants renting spaces in the centres or running classes would be offered new agreements."We appreciate the importance of these buildings to local communities," a council spokesman said."We would like to reassure them we are doing everything we can to minimise disruption in the short term until the future of the buildings can be resolved."
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