Unified front over future of Saint Patrick Centre

Unified front over future of Saint Patrick Centre

9 May 2012

THE two bodies at the centre of the crisis at the Saint Patrick Centre have united in a bid to undo the negative publicity which has gripped the centre over the past month.

The Management Board of the Centre and Down Council’s Saint Patrick Centre Working Group, have put aside their differences to pledge the centre will remain open and that “firm foundations for the future” have been laid.

The two groups have held several meetings since council cutbacks forced the management board to take the shock decision to close the centre on April 31. Several days before the closure took effect the organisations thrashed out a compromise which has seen the doors of the complex remain open.

This week the new chairman of the centre, John Carson, and council chairman, Dermot Curran, issued a joint statement reinforcing their determination to keep the centre open.

Mr. Curran said he was looking forward to partnership and working closely with the centre board to ensure the future of the centre is a positive one.

“I welcome the enthusiasm of the newly appointed chairman, Mr. John Carson, and his desire to forge a new shared relationship with council representatives,” he said.

Mr. Carson said he is “delighted” with the commitment of the council and looked forward to “total transparency in the new working relationship.

“The Board of The Saint Patrick Centre has confirmed its agreement to operate within the Council’s grant of £125,000 and have also expressed a desire for a three year Service Level Agreement, as we feel it would be of tremendous benefit to all concerned and would confirm total commitment by all.

“Under the guidance of the Board of Trustees and the financial commitment of Down District Council along with the generation of funding from other sources will ensure a positive future for The Saint Patrick Centre.”

Neither the council nor the management board have come out of the closure crisis untarnished.

The council’s decision to impose a £20,000 cut in its grant to the centre without any negotiation with the centre’s board was viewed as a particularly bad piece of management which precipitated the sequence of events leading to the closure decision.

But the centre board chose to go for the ‘nuclear option’, deciding to close rather than trying to negotiate their way out of the problem. Then when councillors turned up for a crisis meeting the Board withdrew their closure threat without the promise of any additional money.

No details have been given of the joint management strategy which has been embarked upon nor has any information been forthcoming about a “new structure” which has been set up for the development of the centre.

The council has insisted that no-one is allowed to talk to the media and that all public statements will be carefully controlled and issued from the council’s own press office.