A row has broken out this week as campaigners in Peasedown St John and housing and support organisation, Curo, have clashed over the use of St John’s Close Community Hall.

The hall, located next to Albert Avenue, is used regularly for social and recreational purposes, particularly by Peasedown St John Residents’ Association – yet Curo says whilst it is happy for groups to pre-book the space, it is not a community hall and belongs to them, meaning this venue could become a victim of its own success.

B&NES Councillor, Sarah Bevan (Independent, Peasedown) says: “During the local government consultation, Curo rejected enhanced protection status for The Green, another well-used community asset and shared open space in the village. Their focus in recent years seems to have switched from providing quality social housing to housing and commercial development. Their change in priorities has quite rightly worried local people as to which of their facilities might be lost in the future.”

Peasedown St John Residents’ Association says it has been in consultation with B&NES Council over what options are available to them under the Government’s Localism Act 2011. Former B&NES Council Deputy Leader, Nathan Hartley, says the Residents’ Association will be pressing B&NES for more control over the hall.

He said: “We will be applying to register St John’s Close Community Hall as an Asset of Community Value. I’ll be meeting council staff over August to complete the necessary paperwork to ensure Curo are unable to make any changes to the building in the future without statutorily consulting residents.”

Meanwhile a spokesperson for Curo told The Journal this week: “The room at St John’s Close is not a Community Hall, it is a privately owned Residents’ Lounge which is an integral part of our building and is provided for the use of our sheltered housing residents as part of their home. Residents pay a service charge for the upkeep and use of the room.

“We are happy for community groups, including the Peasedown St John Residents’ Association, to use the room for occasional events and meetings, as long as they are agreed with us in advance.

“However, we have received complaints from our residents that they are not able to use their lounge, because of the number of events being run from there. The use of the room must not affect the St John’s residents’ ability to use their lounge; they will always be given priority.

"In addition, as the landlord, we must take Health and Safety issues very seriously, and any groups using the room must have our consent and the proper agreements and permissions in place.

“It’s disappointing that Mr Hartley has chosen this approach. We have raised this issue on a number of occasions and have requested meetings with the Residents’ Association to agree how we can work in partnership, but have been told they are not available until September.”