to be extremely sad and angry with our council?

[EsmeWeatherwax]

The all too common story, cutbacks everywhere. We live in a large village, with three council owned facilities. A wreck of a sports hall, a beautiful, small, very well used library, and a town hall. The sports hall and the library are being closed, leaving the town hall to accommodate a much reduced library, and the classes that run in the sports hall, which will almost definitely result in the closure of the out of school club, as the library is being shoehorned into its current home.

We have just been told that the rental fees on the town hall are being increased to 4.5 times their current rates. The mother and toddlers group is having to close with immediate effect, as it would be impossible to finance it. Playgroup and the weekly teabar run for the OAP's will more than likely follow suit very shortly.

AIBU to think that when every politician and his uncle seems to be harping on about communities and their importance, they seem to be doing their utmost to destroy any community spirit, anywhere?

That's awful. I too live in a village and love the community spirit we have

Have you tried getting everyone together at a meeting to discuss protest?

I really feel for communities suffering like this. What part of the Big Society is having a miniscule library, no sporting facilities and the demise of mums and tots groups.

Boo, emergency meetings are being planned to discuss protests etc. We already have a very active campaign running against the library closure.

4.5 times rent increase?! Good grief! That's awful!

Amelia, yes, and the group treasurers got letters yesterday, the rent goes up on Monday. This is the concession rate for registered charities too, hate to think what they will be for business users.

And by business users I mean kids dance, music providers, exercise classes like Zumba etc, kids gym club.

Is there any chance you could take over the sports hall or the library buildings as a community? Communities are getting the right to demand a community asset transfer from the council.

Op, has anyone queried this 4.5 times rent increase. Who on earth is responsible for doing the Rent Review, sound a bit suss to me.

That's terrible.

How can they put the rent up without notice? Is that allowed in the terms and conditions of the lease?

Can you get your MP involved or are they of the same party that's running the council? What about your councillors - are their dirty fingers all over this or would any of them join you?

But what can you do? People are defaulting on their council tax - there is no money. What do you cut out of the budget? School teachers? The meals on wheels service? The rubbish collections?

There's also a premise which says that before these things were paid for by the council, individuals stepped in to help - AKA Big Society. But what happened 40 years ago is no longer practical in our litigius society - e.g. let's say I have a big house, which happens to have a hall big enough to have all the brownies have a pack meeting... And while they are there, one of them smashes a vase, or falls over, or claims my husband said something rude to her? I'm not going to take that chance.

Likewise, you could say that we could all save the council some money by going out litter picking once a month - but would you really chance picking up junkie needles? Or worse, letting your kids pick them up? (This actually happened to me - it was the most scared I have ever been for them, and it took about 20 questions for me to establish she hadn't touched it!!)

No big society here! But also no complaints about the council having to cut non-essential services.

and how many of the poeple who live in pretty middle class villages voted liberal or consertavie in the last election thinking they would get a better deal from the nice middle class parties than they got from them horrible labour lot

people seem to have forgotten that the last lot of conservatives trebled the mortgage rate, introduced the poll tax, cost people thier businesses (like me), thier homes , thier jobs

I also live in a village, they are going to close our doctor's surgery and library. Considering however that the village is mainly full of the elderly and those who have children, it will make things extremely difficult.
The council stopped funding our bus service a while back and now we only have one bus every two hours.
Numerous shops in the village have had to sell up and move, as well.

They don't seem to care about rural areas, to be honest, from my point of view. There is massive pressure on most if not all rural areas, and I hate seeing posters protesting the closure of a library or other public facility in most of the villages I pass by on the way into town. :(

I live in London and feel sad and angry with our (staunchly Labour) council for not refusing to implement the government cuts but mainly feel angry about the coalition's decisions to wield the axe of austerity at libraries, community groups, play schemes and the 'small cost with big benefits' facilities, whilst refusing to regulate their mates' city workers' bonuses and letting corporations off millions of pounds of tax. That and continuing the trident programme.

Sorry that you're losing your village services.

is there no way that the village as a whole would support all these groups? My DB lives in a village and when the local school needed resources or new classrooms the village council (or whatever it is called) got together and decided to do something about it. The school and any clubs seem to get lots of support from within the village.

Perhaps someone in your village needs to take the initiative and do something about the cuts or supporting the clubs that need the money to pay for hiring the hall. Surely the town hall would prefer some money in rent than none at all. Can't someone speak to the council and put the clubs' case?

Euphemia, Yes, I am in Renfrewshire. Have just resigned my membership of the SNP as I am so utterly disgusted at the way they are running the villages into the ground.

I remember the Tories the last time round. Particularly the constant feeling of anxiety that some service or facility that made life worth living will be taken away. I am starting to feel that way again. A lot of other people felt that anxiety too back then and we ended up with riots...

There's an article on the guardian page about scout groups facing closure for the same reason. Write to your MP and get everyone you know to write as well. Kick up the biggest stink you can in the local press.

In our county all of the activities my ASD son does are being closed - young adults with disabilities that aren't classed as severe will have absolutely nothing to do. Some of the parents we know will have to give up work so that they can be at home to look after their adult children!

Scouts are running a campaign about this:

www.scouts.org.uk/rent/

It seems to be affecting lots of groups.