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THE opening of First House, later re-named Brinnington Top Shops
Authority cash bail-out for Brinnington regeneration
3/ 9/2008
STOCKPORT Council has stepped in with £222,000 bail-out of the organisation spearheading a £10million regeneration on the Brinnington estate.
At a meeting Stockport Council’s executive decided last week to put up the money following the liquidation last Autumn of the Brinnington Community First (BCF) trust which was re-developing retail and community facilities in the area known as Brinnington Top Shops.
It is understood a financial crisis was triggered at the trust after one of the development's backers demanded the repayment of a £200,000 grant and loan.
The trust, which has undergone various name changes, was first established in August 2004.
The original funding package was £1,356 million and included £618,812 from Stockport Council and a further £160,000 from Adventure Capital, a Government-funded body aimed at helping community organisations.
The new facilities at Top Shops - originally called First House - were opened last autumn to great fanfare.
They included meeting rooms, offices, a library, a cafe and a computer suit.
Organisations housed in the complex included the Stockport Credit Union, Stockport Direct, Brinnington Library and Learning Zone, Stockport Into Work, Neighbourhood Renewal, Neighbourhood’s Northwest, Hands on Heritage, Cafe Pure and Adults and Communities Staff Development as well as eight shops.
Adventure Capital asked for its money back when the trust asked for more support from Stockport Council after admitting "financial difficulties".
According to council minutes, the trust board was increasingly concerned that it might not be able to pay off the loan under the original terms.
Brinnington ward councillor Colin MacAllister said "The way this scheme worked was to recruit local people in the community to the board and expect them to run organisations that would earn enough money to pay off the original costs of more than £1 million. But many of these people had no training or knowledge of how to run such an organisation. I always had my doubts about it.
"However, this was the only way they could get these facilities. I think Stockport Council has done what it had to do, and although lessons need to be learned, I would hope it will not prevent other communities across Stockport being put in charge of their own destinies."
Former ward councillor Maureen Rowles, who was involved with the regeneration project at Top Shops said: "Three of the eight shops which were opened as part of the project have never been occupied because the rent levels set by the council were too high. When the new shops opened, existing shopkeepers, who had run businesses from Top Shops, pointed this out but unfortunately this advice was rejected and they were forced to move their businesses elsewhere."
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Stockport is number 13 in the list of councils with £5.585.000 in uncollected council tax, from 2007-8.
A bunch of councillors "not fit for purpose".
8/09/2008 at 22:21