Rye Town Council will be asked to agree next Monday, April 10, that the council should be represented on a new working group looking at the future of the former school in Tilling Green, now run as a community centre.
The land is owned by East Sussex Council (ESCC), currently chaired by local ESCC councillor Keith Glazier, who also chairs the Rye Partnership (which seeks to encourage and support local economic development and also currently runs the community centre).
The annual meeting of Rye Partnership was told recently that the community centre was a loss-making venture with high costs and too little used.
A Community Interest Company (CIC) had been set up to run a brand new community centre if housing association Amicus Horizon got planning permission for an associated housing development on the school site.
For two years the centre was believed to have been breaking even, but the then users did not find Amicus very forthcoming with information about what might happen, and the Rye Partnership was not very helpful either.
But the following year Cllr Glazier was reported as saying "we will not walk away and let this plan fail. We are committed to making this place work as a community centre".
Nevertheless Amicus did not get planning permission for their proposals on account of the flood risks. However, housing has been approved, and built, recently both in Ferry Road and in Winchelsea Road because the housing design took account of flood risks - and both developments were in places much more clearly at risk from more immediate flood threats than Tilling Green.
However talks have been promised by Rye Partnership with both the Residents' Association and the CIC after the county council elections, and Tracy Deighton from the CIC and local architect Dominic Manning asked the Town Council's Policy Committee to join in those talks.
Deputy Mayor Mike Boyd thought the existing building might be remodelled and refurbished, and perhaps become a community asset transfer to the town council, but Cllr Jo Kirkham said the running costs were around £30,000 and Rye Partnership had had to subsidise these.
But Cllr Glazier had made it clear at the Partnership AGM that ESCC would not put any money into the centre, even for minor repairs, and would be unlikely to grant a lease of more than five years.
The town councillors also thought more information was needed on the current state of the building and whether the land involved might still be developed for housing despite the flooding risks.
Photo: Rye News Library
