The Charity Commission has finally struck a blow against wicked miscreants. The Freshbrook Community Centre in Swindon has lost its charitable status and been closed. Its offence? It did not file its accounts on time. What a triumph for Dame Suzi Leather and the Righteous.
THE shock closure of a much-loved community centre has left residents young and old feeling betrayed.
The Freshbrook Community Centre was abruptly closed yesterday after serving the local area for a quarter of a century.
Groups from pensioners to young ballet dancers have been left without a home, although a nearby primary school has offered to help out.
Mo Walch, who organised bingo for OAPs every Tuesday, said: “It will leave a big hole in the community. It will affect everyone around here.”
The Freshbrook Community Group, which ran the centre, had its charitable status withdrawn by the Charity Commission on September 11 after failing to submit its accounts. The centre was then closed by Swindon Council, which owns the building.
Staff who had worked at the centre since it opened 25 years ago had the news broken to them just 24 hours before the doors closed.
Bar manager Jill Stapleton said: “I found out from a customer and less than a day later the doors are locked. I can’t believe it. Everyone is really upset and angry.
“This is going to have a big impact on lots of different groups of people.
“I had three staff working with me on the bar who have families. What are they going to do now?”
Silly people. Why didn’t they concentrate on something wholesome that doesn’t really bother the Charity Commission at all, such as raising funds for terrorists?
I mean, you can, apparently, get away with not filing accounts for years if you are the “Muslim Prisoner Support Group”. In fact, you can even have an al Qaeda operative on UN sanctions lists as a trustee and another who tried to burn a publisher and his family to death and not be shut down.
Bingo and ballet, though, are best regulated very, very harshly.
