Anger as community hall charges treble for dance group

Apr 29 2010 by Gary Fanning, Hamilton Advertiser

A POPULAR dance school in Larkhall could be driven out of business after being hit by a massive rise in hall charges.

Linda Paterson School of Dancing have been teaching children in the town for 36 years.

Now the dance school rental for the gym hall in Hareleeshill Primary has TREBLED.

And the cost of the community room based within the school has DOUBLED.

Linda Bolton, head of the dance school, sent a letter to Larkhall Community Council expressing her concerns.

She said that she had asked for councillors in Larkhall to get the rent increases reduced.

But her pleas have fallen on deaf ears and she has now had to pass on the increase in costs to children.

She has also failed to find alternative cheaper accommodation in the town for her dance class.

Community councillors were furious to learn of the huge increases for groups like Linda’s, who benefit the community.

One said: “We were told the facilities in the new schools would be better for the community but it’s not better for any group that has moved.”

Another said: “We were told there would be no rise when we moved from the Gully Hall to Harleeshill Primary and now it has doubled and trebled in price.

“Hareleeshill Primary have lost their two school crossing patrols.

“Now, that’s two things children in this town are affected by in the council’s cuts.

“Are children the easy option? Are they wanting to force the dance school out of business?”

SNP councillor Peter Craig, who attended the meeting, agreed the community rooms were too small and not fit for purpose.

“All the halls and cultural facilities are being moved over to South Lanarkshire Leisure,” he said

“It will save the council £¾m a year in rates.

Councillor Craig urged parents of the dance school to form a committee so they can hire the halls at reduced cost.

“What I have been saying to people in the position of the dance instructor is that it is punitive on them.

“What you can do is get the parents of the children, who are going to the dance school, to form a committee and then hire the hall under a community rate. That will bring the rate back down to what they were paying originally.

“A few groups have come to me with the same problem and I have advised them to do the same thing.

And he added: “The idea behind this is that people who use the hall for a commercial activity and to make money pay a higher rate.

“That, to me, is a good idea.

“Some groups don’t make that much money and are a benefit to the community. That’s why I am advising them to set up a parents’ group to rent the hall.”

A South Lanarkshire Council spokesman said: “On February 1, the council agreed to implement a new scale of charges for community letting taking effect from April 1, 2010.

“These new charges standardise letting prices across the authority.

“Where halls are used for business purposes these are considered to be commercial ventures and are charged at the fixed commercial rate for the accommodation used.

“The council are aware that some commercial groups who use large accommodation spaces are in some cases facing significant increases in charges.

“In these cases we are keen to work with groups to consider whether accommodation of a more appropriate size and charge could be available in the area.”