East Worthing and Shoreham Labour Party

Give us back our Roller Rink, Adur District Council, your cover’s blown…and hands off our lease!

Adur District Council (A.D.C.) conceived the Fishersgate Dome. It chose the design. It chose the developer (without tender). It micro-managed the project condemned by the independent surveyor as “the worst piece of construction he has seen in 30 years experience”. Adur District Council led members of the Fishersgate Community Association into become legally liable Trustees for a major construction project without giving them proper legal advice on their obligations or support in carrying out their responsibilities. 

A.D.C paid the developer with funds belonging to the Association, without accounting to the Trustees for what was being done on their behalf. To this day, in spite of being asked repeatedly, Adur District Council has failed to properly account for the huge sums it paid out. As the money dried up, (£840.000), A.D.C even ambushed the Trustees into a meeting at half-an-hour’s notice to sign guarantees for loans to the developer.
When the Insurer refused the Community Association insurance because C.M.E (the developer) could not supply a fire retardent certificate for the structure, A.D.C. insured it under its own general policy (under the terms of the lease, A.D.C. was obliged to supply insurance if the Association was unable to obtain it) but they did not inform the insurance company about the lack of a certificate.
Zurich was furious at the deception when a claim was made for the arson attack that closed the Dome. They wouldn’t pay out the rebuild cost: the construction costs had been seriously, maybe fraudulently, inflated, and the building was still not finished. They agreed to settle for an amount that would bring the building back to its condition prior the arson attack. Adur District Council continues improperly to hold on to over £180,000 (settlement of the claim plus interest) that belongs to the Fishersgate Community Association.
Adur District Council has now formally threatened Fishersgate Community Association with repossession of their lease.  Why? Because the F.C.A. has not built, or maintained, the Community Centre (The Dome) as required under the terms of the lease!

Hang on a moment!

Adur District Council and their chosen developer and ‘project manager’ misspent near-on a million pounds that belonged to the Fishersgate Community. They demolished an existing Community Centre and pulled-the-plug on a fantastic, existing community sports facility - the Roller Rink. They’re improperly withholding over £180,000 of the Association’s insurance pay-out.

Enough is enough.