Members vote to close Lithuanian Social Club

Jun 5 2008 by John Rowbotham

A CLUB set up to help preserve the culture of Lanarkshire people with a Lithuanian background looks to have reached the end of the road.

At an acrimonious extraordinary general meeting last Wednesday, members voted 41-35 to close the Scottish Lithuanian Social Club in Calder Road, Mossend.

Police were called to the meeting amid fears that tempers might boil over.

Although there was no trouble, about 30 associate members of the club were denied access to the meeting.

The decision on the future of the club was only taken after the meeting voted to change the number of members required for a quorum.

Club Committee treasurer Cathie Blue, backed by most members of the eight-strong committee, proposed the closure.

She claimed the club had lost its cultural identity and had a dwindling membership.

Members were told that the £128,000 in the club’s accounts would go to charity.

However, there was no indication of what would happen to the club and grounds despite rumours that they were to be sold for housing.

North Lanarkshire Labour councillor for Bellshill, Harry Curran, who served on the club committee for seven years, attended the meeting and argued against the move.

He accused the committee of “railroading through” changes to the constitution and insisted the club had a future.

Councillor Curran told the Advertiser yesterday (Wednesday) he would now explore action aimed at reversing the decision.

He wants to know who will benefit if the club and ground are sold.

Councillor Curran (53), whose wife Liz has a Lithuanian background, said: “Despite what the committee might say, the club is still well used and cultural events are usually well attended.

“I would hope that members don’t take this decision lying down and they look for further action.

“The club is an asset to Mossend and unique in Scotland.

“To close it down is an insult to the people who worked so hard to set it up in the first place.”

He was unhappy with the way the meeting had been conducted, adding: “On the night, the police stopped all the associate members from entering the meeting.

“Although they don’t have voting rights, they usually attend annual general meetings.”

Councillor Curran said about 80 full members out of the total full membership of 136 attended the egm.

“You need two-thirds for a quorum so there was a vote to do away with that rule,” he added.

He continued: “This was one of the worst meetings I have ever attended.

“It was extremely acrimonious, people who wanted to speak against the closure of the club were shouted down.

“At one stage I was threatened with ejection for speaking about the need to uphold the constitution of the club.”

It is understood that some committee members met with lawyers on Monday.

Club president Alex Paton declined to comment on the reasons for the club’s closure and the acrimonious nature of last week’s meeting.

He added: “Members will be notified of what is going to happen in due course.”