Talks aim to resolve Merkinch Community Centre row
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Merkinch Community Centre are to meet council officials early in the new year amid growing optimism that the much-loved site will be saved from the bulldozer.
Residents and supporters have been waging a campaign against proposals to demolish the existing Merkinch Community Centre and replace it with a £10 million multi-purpose hub including a new family centre, sports facilities and community cafe.
There has been growing anger and dismay in the area after it emerged Highland Council had submitted an application for £2 million of Scottish Government cash towards the project without fully consulting centre users.
Placard waving protesters staged a high profile and noisy demonstration outside the council headquarters last week. On Tuesday, the council’s director of care and learning, Bill Alexander, met Inverness Central councillors to discuss the way forward.
A further meeting is now planned for January 6 when a broad range of community organisations will be represented.
Councillor Bet McAllister is optimistic of a positive outcome and that a solution can be found.
"I am extremely hopeful that the centre will not close," she said.
"We are going to have to look at what we can do."
Councillor McAllister said a solution needed to be found to replace the existing family centre in Coronation Park to bring together all its services under one roof.
"A lot needs to be done for children’s services," she said. "More and more children need to go to the centre. We have to find a way round that."
She wondered whether an extension could be added to the community centre or whether the nearby Corbett Centre, used mainly as offices by NHS Highland, could provide a solution.
"We need to get the early years provision sorted out," she said. "The idea is to get round the table and come up with some forward thinking."
Anne McCreadie, chairwoman of the centre’s management committee, is also hopeful that there will be a rethink on plans to demolish the centre especially as the community has made its feelings clear.
She welcomed the public support for the Save Our Centre campaign which has so far gathered more than 500 signatures calling on the council to retain the building.
"It has brought the community together," she said. "It has brought out the true spirit of Merkinch."
But she also acknowledged the upset and uncertainty was very stressful.
"You cannot run a business if you don’t have a centre," she said.
Campaigners maintain the centre meets the needs of a broad range of users and has also had £1 million spent on it in the last seven years.
But council director Bill Alexander believes the building only has 10 to 15 years life left and is untenable in the long term.
He said new facilities were needed for young children in Merkinch while many groups also wanted new facilities.
