Hanwell Community Centre Update

The Tory leader has falsely accused Labour of "telling outright lies" about the possible demolition of Hanwell Community Centre.
Quite simply, he was not at the meeting and he has got his facts wrong.

THE FACTS ARE AS FOLLOWS
1. The Tories invited the police officer to the Hanwell Area Committee meeting on 6th June 2007, which is a public meeting open to all residents.
2. The police informed residents that they had been unable to find accommodation for the Hobbayne Safer Neighbourhood team within the Hobbayne ward. In response to a resident's suggestion that the police rent space at Hanwell Community Centre, the police officer replied, "Hanwell Community Centre is not suitable because demolition is the likley option after this year's lease is up."

THE TORY LEADER FALSELY and SCANDALOUSLY ACCUSES LABOUR OF;
1. Lying - yet the above happened in a public meeting and can all be easily verified with local residents.
2. Unfairly using a police officer "for political gain" - yet it was the Tories who brought the police to the meeting. We merely reported what had been said in a public meeting in response to a resident's question. The Tory leader's aggressive over-reaction is due to his humiliation that this bad news came out.
3. Damaging the image of the council by reporting that there were fears that the Tories might use the long awaited report into the centre's future options to recommend it be closed.
Yet local residents are sceptical that the Tories will stump up the money to keep the centre going and are genuinely and quite rightly, concerned.

The Tory leader also selectively quoted from an email the police officer in question subsequently sent to all the parties concerned, in which he states that he is not aware that the centre is to be demolished within a year and apologises for having given that impression at the area committee meeting. The Tory leader, misleadingly, tries to use this email to support his fallacious allegation that Labour had lied about this revelation. Once again, the Tory leader's account of events is not accurate. The email clearly contains no denial from the police officer that he said he thought it was going to be demolished at the public meeting.

The Tory leader does not like his bad news being leaked. Well tough! He can throw as much of his weight around as he likes but he will not deter us from doing all we can to preserve Hanwell Community Centre for this community.

The bottom line is -WILL THIS COUNCIL STUMP UP THE MONEY TO SAVE HANWELL COMMUNITY CENTRE OR NOT? And will it make the options appraisal report, open to the public, who, after all, funded it?