SIGN THE PETITION

Posted on Posted in CAMPAIGN

The Colne Bank school of dance has been based at the Phillip Road centre since 1982; the Hub youth club is a popular meeting place for over 100 young people from Wivenhoe, Alresford and Elmstead Market; and the Moving Image cinema screens a wide range of film events across the community. We have been given just four weeks to pack up our belongings and hand over the keys for a building which will then lie empty for months on end. Livelihoods threatened, volunteers discarded and young people turned out. This has taken place without discussion or assistance, despite everything that the community has invested in the place.

Sign the petition at Change.org http://chn.ge/13gc710

Here’s what some of the petition supporters have said about this closure (and more are adding their views constantly):

  • Clive Hedger WOKING
    Whats the point in having a building not in use???
  • Tracey Montague-Lotfi COLCHESTER
    my son went there, my daughter hopes to go there. Wivenhoe needs a ‘hub’ for youth or you’ll end up paying more for the police to keep them sober on the streets at night!!!!
  • Libby Bishop WIVENHOE
    I have used the facility for dance classes and want the opportunity to attend films. Wivenhoe is woefully undersupplied with such resources. Please reopen it.
  • sarah Green LONDON
    My children have dance lessons here and it is a true part of our childrens lives and our community as a whole, and as our grandparents attended this school, it has a long history in our town.
  • Eliza Kentridge WIVENHOE
    My children have used the centre for 14 years going to several dance lessons a week. We are all shocked at the decision to close a vibrant part of local culture and activity.
  • Sarah Thompson WIVENHOE
    Both my children have attended the dance school and youth club. These are very valuable community groups that should be able to carry on operating.
  • Helen Vale WIVENHOE
    Whats the point in having a building not in use???
  • Denise Sherer WIVENHOE
    Much needed venue to keep youngsters off the street with nothing to do
  • Neil Maher WIVENHOE
    An important community asset in the heart of the town. Could never be replaced.
  • Ginny Scott WIVENHOE
    My 10yr old daughter was really looking forward to joining the youth club and I have now had to tell her it is closing. With so few facilities like this around – and as a single child – this would have been a crucial opportunity for her to hone her social skills and interract with other children from the wider community. VERY SHORT SIGHTED decision
  • Adele Paterson WIVENHOE
    This is a well used and central facility that brings so many diverse parts of the community together.
  • Alison Shelley WIVENHOE
    Closing Philip Road will mean the loss of a very important venue in Wivenhoe, home for many years to a thriving Dance School, the Film Society and the Youth Club. These are really important aspects of community life in Wivenhoe used by hundreds of residents every week. I am horrified to think that a body supposedly acting for the benefit of the community has decided to remove it from public use.
  • Graham Robinson WIVENHOE
    An important community resource
  • France Gaudy COLCHESTER ENGLAND
    We have been members of the cinema club for some time; it is a magical evening everybody is waiting for; to meet again and share, discuss a good film. Nowhere else have we experienced such a warm and welcoming place. Why is it that when something is really successful, and brings people together,giving a chance for the lonely or bereaved to go out and feel part of a caring societty it has to be taken away???
  • patricia sida ESSEX
    If you close the building you should give the groups another venue as surely the land will be sold for profit which is the usual scenario. The powers that be have no thought of how their actions cause distress to the public who use these facilities and who also pay the wages of the council officers.
  • Kevin Patrick COLCHESTER
    I live in Wivenhoe and regularly attend the Moving Image cinema at Phillip Road
  • Celeste Wyatt WIVENHOE
    This building is a hub for the local community. Why take something away that means so much to so many people?
  • Sheila Foster WIVENHOE
    The Wivenhoe Centre in Phillip Road has to my knowledge been at the heart of the community of Wivenhoe ever since I first came to live in Wivenhoe in 1974. My husband and I ran the Wivenhoe Youth Theatre each sommer there for 16 years from 1994. I ran summer activities for children back in the 80s – I remember performances by the Palace of Varieties and the Wivenhoe Players there. and it was also an excellent venue for adult education classes, youth activities and clubs like the short mat bowls club. THere woudl still have been many more activities there that in recent years, but the the venue has been used again as a school recently. There is ian urgent need for a community building of this size in Wivenhoe – other venues are much smaller, and are very well used as it is. This building may belong to Essex COunty Council, but it has been at the heart of our community, adn is still needed by it.
  • Junior Porter WIVENHOE
    Too many people use it for various community purposes.
  • Annie Callaghan WIVENHOE
    I love the Wivenhoe cinema and the sense of communicy that the Philip Road facility promotes.
  • Sarah Kafala COLCHESTER
    A real community needs this kind of place and the activities that take place here.
  • Janie Grote WIVENHOE
    It is a much used Community Centre and Youth Club. We need these facilities in Wivenhoe
  • Karen bennett COLCHESTER
    Go on, dare you, break the mould, be the only council that doesn’t make stupid decisions. Support your own voters and reverse the decision
  • Sarah McCaskey WIVENHOE
    I have used the Phillip Road centre all my life as an important venue for learning and recreation.Wivenhoe is very short of good spaces for the size of the town, to close Phillip Road to community groups would be a travesty.
  • Lucy Taylor CAMBRIDGE
    Because I spent my childhood here dancing with Colne Bank School of Dancing many happy memories!
  • Fabian Freyenhagen WIVENHOE
    Have benefitted from the film showings, and hoped to send my daughter to the school of dance when she is older.
  • Clare Kendrick Robinson WIVENHOE
    Local very positive and successful project, saving energy use by not needing transport to get there
  • Helen Chambers WIVENHOE
    Phillip Road has been used by various community groups for years and its closure will be dreadful for the community.
  • steve glozier COLCHESTER
    Crying shame if this place closes spend my whole youth there at the youthie..
  • Anna Harvey WIVENHOE
    This is a vital community project and it would be a tragedy for our village if we lost it…
  • dan bates WIVENHOE
    My daughter attends the Colne Bank School of dancing. is this building and the surrounding land going to become more overpriced housing? The Philip Road Centre in an integral part of the community. Doubly important as it is one of the few places in Wivenhoe that caters for young people. We need to hang on to places like this.
  • Florence Leader WIVENHOE
    Because the building is used for the people and the project is a good successful story and honourable as well.It is plausible that the council is going to waste tax payer money for a long time and possibly years as they often do in order to give space to their intramural scarmiches and rivalries rather than think creatively and offer solid resources to the people.
  • Shaina Wang WIVENHOE
    Because it’s an important asset to the community.
  • chris lawes WIVENHOE
    This is a focal point for the community supporting a diverse range of community enhancing projects.
  • Joanna Howell WIVENHOE
    This has been a centre for the community all of my life and now for the next generation. There will be a gap in provision without this centre
  • Emma Evans COLCHESTER
    My children and myself along with many other people I know have been attending Philip Road Centre for nearly twenty years doing different things such as art, drama and dance. More recently and after not going to the cinema for several years we are now members of the Moving Image film club which we attend regularly and which offers a fantastic variety of film genres – something for everyone. I would not hesitate to say that through taking part in the various activities offered at the Philip Centre, we have all gained valuable life long skills which has contributed towards developing us as confident as independent people and, equally as vital, has offered us the experience of belonging to and being part of a ‘Community’ – this is what being human is about. Don’t shut the Philip Road Centre, it is a vital community resource.
  • Nick Smee COLCHESTER
    This is an important community resource, and at the very minimum reasonable notice should be offered to enable user groups to maintain their local provision to many enthusiastic users. Attempts have been made by user groups to anticipate possible closure to ensure continuity of their function, but Essex County Council did not respond to these enquiries as requested. In these circumstances ECC has an additional responsibility to demonstrate responsible council practice to ensure the future existence of these important groups.
  • Sue Dawes ESSEX
    I live in Wivenhoe and my children attend the youth club
  • Jake Day-Williams WIVENHOE
    This is a local amenity that is used by a large number of people and groups and should continue to be used in the future.
  • Pam Job WIVENHOE
    This is another example of faceless, unaccountable, unrepresentative bureucracrytreading all over local community ventures. The effort people have put into the Youth Club and Moving Image must not be allowed to count for nothing!
  • Rosie Harford WIVENHOE
    Vital community resource – no alternative venues for what happens here!
  • Tim Evans COLCHESTER
    My children have used this site for dance and drama over the years, as has my wife for Art classes. We now go here to watch the excellent Moving Image films. It would be wrong to take this resource away from the community.
  • Georgia Sams LONDON
    I have so many happy memories of this building and the time I spent there; if there’s any way of keeping it open for those who use it, it should be kept open.
  • Ian Hunter ALRESFORD, COLCHESTER
    Ratepayers can afford this relatively tiny cost of the marvellous activities that take place at the Phillip Road Centre which benefits most of us locals.
  • Hilary Lazell WIVENHOE
    Young, local people use this venue.
  • Rebecca Breen WIVENHOE
    This is a blow for Wivenhoe and the greater region – a poor decision for this community and shamefully executed. I hope the Council will reconsider…
  • Richard Lown WIVENHOE
    It is a disgrace that you should treat the people of Wivenhoe and área in such a shabby way. You must reverse this arbitrary decisión at once and consult with all interested parties. We pay your salaries and inflated expenses and warrant our views to be considered.
  • Malcolm Deex WIVENHOE
    I have worked with young people for over 20 years as well as being a parent of 4 children and understand the importance of addtional activites like these in ensuring young people are engaged with society appropriately which in turn is better for them personally, socially and economically.
  • sarah mcgougan COLCHESTER
    because this place is of vital importance to our close knit community
  • Elizabeth Kuti WIVENHOE
    This building must not be closed; it is a very important part of our community and houses many hugely valuable organisations for people of all ages in Wivenhoe. DON’T CLOSE IT DOWN!!!!
  • Ruth Hubbins COLCHESTER
    The activities that have been taking place here have all enriched the life of Wivenhoe and its surrounding area. This sudden notice of eviction appears to have taken no account of these benefits – in fact gives the impression that the council neither knows nor cares. Such high-handed treatment of citizens and council tax payers deserves to be investigated and, when we know who is responsible for the decision and the insulting manner of its imposition, reflected at the ballot box.
  • Briony Galpin WIVENHOE
    This venue provides important outlets for local young people (amongst others) who can take part in activities that broaden their horizons and increase their confidence. Not all parents can ferry their children further afield. Same applies to adults who may find it harder to leave Wivenhoe in order to take part in social activities.
  • Kate Nevard WIVENHOE
    This building is of great value to the community, especially young people. It’s places like this that enrich our lives, not yet more housing or a Tesco express.
  • Christina Volkmann WIVENHOE
    It’s vital for a community like Wivenhoe and its surrounding villages to have a centre like this one. We can’t blame youngsters for not getting involved with activities if there’s nowhere for them to go.The government’s cuts to councils’ budgets need to stop asap, so that centres such as Phillip Road wouldn’t have to be closed in the first place.
  • Erica Hall WIVENHOE, ENGLAND
    I live near the Philip Road centre and know how much it is needed for young people. It is also a centre for the community – bringing so many together for the film screenings.
  • Elizabeth Tames WIVENHOE
    This asset is invaluable for community cohesion and its cavalier closure will damage those organisations and people whose well-being should surely be a local concern and responsibility
  • Gabriela Silva-Rivero WIVENHOE
    The Moving Image cinema is the only place to see decent films in Wivenhoe, perhaps in the entire area. To close this road would deny many of art and activities.
  • rita beaird COLCHESTER
    do we want to put more youngsters on the street with nothing to do? NO we do not. therefore we must keep this centre open.
  • Rachel Callen WIVENHOE
    It’s a travesty to let a building lie empty when it could be used for the sort of community-building activities that make Wivenhoe such a great place to live! Plus, the short notice is, frankly, rude.
  • Peter Bather WIVENHOE
    Financial considerations will be stated as the reason user groups are being thrown out of the Philip Rd Centre but I smell political vindictiveness, after all, this part of the county elected a Labour county councillor!
  • Xanthia Fletcher WIVENHOE
    This a fantastic community building that is very local to us. We take part in all three of the activities that happen in the building. My daughter attends ballet and tap classes, we have attended the films at the cinema and my son attends the youth club.
  • Maryline Kaeblen WIVENHOE
    It is a community asset and it is used several times a week by local enthusiastic groups who have nowhere else to go. Please leave it alone and let the community look after it.
  • Barbara Crawshaw ESSEX
    The Phillip Road School has been used by various community groups in Wivenhoe for many years and is an integral/vital part of the Wivenhoe community life, particularly for youngsters who might otherwise have nowhere to go. To give just four weeks notice to vacate is unreasonable, particularly if there is no other designated use of the space. We need places such as this where our youngsters can go, take part in activities, and socialise with others in a safe and stimulating way.
  • Florence Wilkinson LONDON
    As if young people aren’t hit hard enough these days without taking away the few spaces they have been allocated – disgraceful!
  • Bryan Thomas, Wivenhoe, United KingdomEssex County Council have been considering the future of this building for at least two decades, I imagine that the reasons are, once again, financial and political and that closing it will make it easier to make a case for its sale and/or demolition – during which lengthy period Wivenhoe and the area will have lost a valuable Community asset.I trust that ECC can reconsider and begin a true democratic debate about the building and its future Community uses.
  • Han Dorussen WIVENHOE
    It is valuable community asset, especially for the youngsters in Wivenhoe. The Colne Bank School of Dance is based in this centre as is the Film Club.
  • Mary Williamson COLCHESTER
    The Philip Road Centre has always provided a home for many community groups. There is a real shortage of spaces for community use in Wivenhoe. It is really important to retain a facility which supports so many members of the community, especially our young people.
  • Phoebe Lambert LONDON
    Community activity is the life blood of Wivenhoe. I personally attend the excellent film club. Why lock us out while the building is otherwise unused?
  • Nick Lumb WIVENHOE
    The centre is a really important part of the wivenhoe community.My daughter attends the ballet school.
  • Kristian Skrede Gleditsch COLCHESTER
    Local resident
  • TI Gizelis WIVENHOE
    Moving Image contributes to the local community. As a high income tax payer I feel that ECC is making decisions and misusing my taxes without proper consultation.
  • Malcolm Burren COLCHESTER
    The organisations which use Philip Road are an integral part of the Wivenhoe Community. Essex County Council are supposed to be our representatives and act on the Community’s behalf to do what the Community wants to do with it’s facilties and not to dictate what the Community is allowed to do.
  • Sandrine Perrin WIVENHOE
    Moving Image + other communities services need to be able to carry on their activities.
  • John Ashworth WIVENHOE
    We are very short of community space and need to keep this building in public use.
  • Alison Kent WIVENHOE
    I am outraged that EEC has made such a misguided decision. Community spaces like this are SO important to us, & the implications are HUGE. Please reverse the decision with dignity.
  • Christine Lee COLCHESTER
    I know so many people who make use of this building – whether for dancing, youth club or film scociety.
  • Michael Mitchell WIVENHOE
    Because of the waste of a valuable community resource and because of the discourteous, unfair way the matter has been handled by the ECC
  • Linda Bryant SUMMERVILLE, SC
    My great nephew goes to youth club there. We need to do all we can by providing educational tools using all possible means. Keeping young kids off the street and teaching them values to live by can only help to improve the future of the world.
  • Ludovico Zizzo PALERMO, ITALY
    I constantly go to watch he screenings in Phillip Road, which are a small good cultural exception in Colchester
  • Ann Farncombe WIVENHOE
    I would like The Philip Road Centre to continue to be used by the residents of Wivenhoe and the surrounding area.
  • Ben Pyett WIVENHOE
    I’m a local resident and believe this goes against the will of the community, my children will benefit from this existence of this facility.
  • Auriol Stevens WIVENHOE
    My grandchildren go to the dance school. We go to the movies. It makes no sense to have a building the community needs kept locked and idle.
  • Ros Day-Williams WIVENHOE
    This is one of the few buildings available for community use such as the Dance School, The hub and our fantastic Moving Image cinema. Please don’t allow this community asset to lay empty when there are many who can benefit. Let’s find a way that it can be available to those who need it.
  • Robert Needham WIVENHOE
    Whilst it seems that everybody had an idea that the Philip Road School would close at some time, the recent haste is nothing short of cavalier.
  • Martin Bewick WIVENHOE
    Communities are built on communal spaces, community events and community activities. Wivenhoe residents need Phillip Road; shutting them out from such an asset is senseless.
  • Peter Goldsmith WIVENHOE
    Madness. What are people thinking of and do they not care for our community?
  • Anita Sparrow WIVENHOE
    My Children use the youth club and my daughter goes to The Colne Bank School of Dance. It is a widely used community building and should continue as such.
  • Sarah Harwood WIVENHOE
    A much needed Wivenhoe space!
  • Thomas Lillywhite WIVENHOE
    The youth club is a much needed facility for young people.
  • George Brown WIVENHOE
    it is important space for Wivenhoe
  • Tom Waters WIVENHOE
    The excellent local cinema is based here as well as the dance school and youth club. Closing it would be a thoughtless act that would damage the community.
  • Toni Cartwright WIVENHOE
    This is our local children that are going to suffer.
  • Susan Lillywhite WIVENHOE
    The Phillip Road Centre plays a vital role in our community, the groups that use the facilities cater for a range of interests across all ages.
  • Michele Hall WIVENHOE
    I was born in Wivenhoe and this building has been part of the community all this time. It would be such a shame to close it.
  • Jean Routledge COLCHESTER, ENGLAND
    The affected groups are providing much needed community activities and need alternative accomodation if it is necessary to close the Phillip Road centre
  • TONY SMITH COLCHESTER
    Because of the effect that loss of the centre will have on the local community and because of the scandalous and arrogant lack of consultation leading to the decision to close the centre. A petty saving and a spiteful act.
  • Cllr. Brian Sinclair WIVENHOE
    Much needed community building and an important part of our heritage in Wivenhoe. Disgraceful behaviour by County
  • graeme davies WIVENHOE
    it is a vital community building which should not close
  • Bob Mehew WIVENHOE
    This is an important community resource for which no alternative has been provided.
  • Jeremy Rendle WIVENHOE
    This is a well used facility and the local community should be consulted, and its views taken into account, before the community is deprived of this resource.
  • Laurie Bussis WIVENHOE
    The Hub youth group is an incredibly important resource for our kids/teenagers. It would be so sad to see it closed!
  • anthea stone COLCHESTER
    This is an important facility to the users of this film club; from what I am told the building is going to remain empty afterwards anyway and finally this is no way to treat people!!
  • Shirley Dow COLCHESTER
    Phillip Road provides a venue for activities at the heart of our community
  • nick austin WIVENHOE
    The centre is used by people of all ages, but is the young who will miss out the most
  • Anna Chernova WIVENHOE
    Both of my daughters had fantastic time attending the dance classes, Wivenhoe Youth Theatre Group, Youth hub and Moving image shows. The building was such an important part of our family lives, and the impact on the community’s life would be seriously detrimental, if the building will not be left to use by the community groups. ECC – shame on you!
  • Birgitta Rabe WIVENHOE
    This is an important community facility in Wivenhoe. We need to keep it.
  • Nathaniel Lockwood WIVENHOE
    It is absolutely scandalous that the council think this facility should be closed down. The bureaucracy of Essex County Council is doing more harm than good. This is an important community facility and should remain open!
  • Louise Coleman WIVENHOE
    Philip Road centre does nothing but good – very shortsighted to lose it for ever. Essex C Council fair and transparent? – never!
  • Chris Bews WIVENHOE
    A very important community resource – the population of Wivenhoe grows whilst the infrastructure shrinks – has the Council even bothered to think this one through?
  • Mark Norrington WIVENHOE
    Important part of the community
  • Tanya Allen WIVENHOE
    My son attands the Hub Youth Club here and its an integral part of the community. What a waste to have such a valued and used building sitting empty. Criminal.
  • Harold Lockwood WIVENHOE
    I grew up in Wivenhoe and went to school at this building on Phillips road. It is one of the few community faciltiies we have and it is outrageous that it is being closed down like this. I strongly oppose this decision. Harold Lockwood (Wivenhoe 827476)
  • Kay Hall WIVENHOE
    Important facility for many people in Wivenhoe.
  • Valerie Mainwood WIVENHOE COLCHESTER
    This building has been used, since Victorian times, as a facility for the community. It is unthinkable that this precious resource will be denied to future generations.
  • Herbert Eiden WIVENHOE
    It is at the heart of a vibrant local community
  • Charmaine McKissock WIVENHOE
    Essential and scarce community resource being lost.
  • Katy Winter IPSWICH
    My sister has moved to the area and we were both planning to use this facility. It seems a big shame that it’s going to be left empty – what a pointless waste!!
  • Ginny Waters COLCHESTER
    It was taken away from the community years ago and now they are doing it again. We desperately need a permanent home for the cinema and the youth club and toddler group and a venue for the many arts, crafts and other educational projects in Wivenhoe which need a home
  • Glenn Widgery WIVENHOE
    My son and his pals all use this facility. Keeps them safe and off the streets.
  • Rosalind Scott COLCHESTER
    This is a facility for the community, the community need it and should have full access. The costs of not providing positive activities include social and health costs and in this case also education
  • irena barden WIVENHOE
    This is the venue in which our cinema is screened. As a Senior Citizen we need local venues so that we don’t have the difficulty travelling outside the town.
  • Nancy Hughes WIVENHOE
    This is a multifunctional venue within easy reach of the main car park, train and by bicycle or walking. It is used increasingly by groups that have been there for years and others coming on stream. Wivenhoe is growing and needs this venue to be upgraded and promoted, not closed down just as it is more and more a place I and others of all ages and interests attend.
  • Jayne Wallett WIVENHOE
    One of the most valuable community resources in Wivenhoe, Phillip Road Centre houses our Cinema and Youth Club. We must not lose it.
  • Ian Valentine WIVENHOE
    I can’t believe this can have happened with no consultation or discussion. Where are the regular users of the Phillips Road Centre supposed to go in 4 weeks time. I’m a member of Moving Image and I’m appalled. So much for Governemnt encouraging volunteering and local democracy.
  • Tracy Sturges COLCHESTER
    There are too few places like this around already, without continually closing community based centres to save a few pounds.
  • Adrian Birch WIVENHOE
    Because I like the idea of having an independent cinema in Wivenhoe.
  • Peter Patrick COLCHESTER
    Lots of people use the Phillips Road facilities for all kinds fo reasons – for me it is mainly the wonderful Moving Image community cinema, whose volunteers do such a great job and who have overcome obstacles to bring us first-rate film. I would hate to see their efforts set back.
  • Zac Brightmore WIVENHOE
    Because it is a facility that is used extensively by the community and it has a historic importance to many of those that attended when it was the only school in the village and met life long friends there.
  • claire addis BRAINTREE, ESSEX
    I work with young people who are constantly in trouble because they have no where to go.
  • Wayne Martin WIVENHOE
    The Phillip road facility is an incredible community asset, which has provided a venue which local community organisers have filled with amazing, home grown cultural life: music, dance, film … . Wivenhoe would be vastly the poorer if we lost this, particularly as there is no equivalent venue to which a number of these events and societies could be move.
  • Suzie Williams COLCHESTER
    This venue is essential to village life. It should not bveocme anothr casualty of short sighted, knee jerk decision making. Do not close the centre!
  • steven gormley COLCHESTER
    Not only is the decion a bad one, given the contribution all those involved make to the community, but the manner in which the decision has been taken (without proper public consultation) reflects poorly on those involved. At a time where communties are being undermined by policies at a national level, one would hope that local councils are doign everything they can to protect important places such as Phillip Road
  • Penny Kraft WIVENHOE, COLCHESTER
    This an awful decision from CBC. For months the users have been fed half truths and been fobbed off at every turn. One group had to find another venue because of the uncertainty, it is not the first time this has happened with this centre, the groups that use the centre deserve better treatment than this from our County Council. This is not directed at Julie Young our county councillor but the powers that be in the offices in Chelmsford, she has worked hard to keep the centre open and I hope she will try to resolve this issue.
  • Jonathan Wood WIVENHOE
    This is a terrible decision and the way in which the decision was made without consulting the community is disgusting. Reverse the decision.
  • Carrie Hudson IPSWICH
    The Phillip Road Centre was a massive part of my childhood, attending not only playgroups here, but also Dancing classes, youth club and theatre rehearsals and performances. It would be such a shame to see future generations denied of these facilities. :o(
  • Stevphen Shukaitis COLCHESTER
    There are too many valuable and important community events that happen at this space for it to be closed.
  • vivienne goldsmith WIVENHOE
    Moving Image and the Hub are volunteer groups which between them provide a wonderful opportunity for the commnity to come together . When there is so much talk of how to engage disaffected youngsters it is mean spirited and anti social to deprive them of their only youth club. Who is responsible for making this desicion and why has it been decided to lock everyone out.
  • Adrian Multon WIVENHOE
    Many local groups use this facilty & have done for years – sudden closure is a disgrace!
  • Laurie Bussis WIVENHOE
    This centre is a vital and vibrant part of our community. It brings people of all ages together for various educational and cultural experiences.
  • Clare Kane WIVENHOE
    Wivenhoe is a very special place and a part of that is the strong sense of community here. The centre is a much-loved and well used community facility that we can ill afford to lose.
  • Paul Long WIVENHOE
    Keeping a space going that’s vital to local community needs
  • Jason Laplain BRENTWOOD
    I worry that local governments are using austerity as an excuse to implement measures without considering the people they represent.
  • Caroline Hughes COLCHESTER
    My children have used this building for many years for their dance classes. It’s a perfect venue for this any many other purposes. I’m very disappointed to hear of the plans of its closure.
  • Amanda Davies WIVENHOE
    Phillip Road has been used and looked after by the community for years, we need more community space in Wivenhoe. The town is getting bigger and the facilities smaller.
  • Mia Krikler WIVENHOE
    I have in the past, danced at Phillip Road for thirteen years, it’s a part of mine and many others life, part of an era. Colne Bank School of Dancing has been a big part of Wivenhoe, bringing many people to the village. The cinema has recently become successful, and I know that the youth centre has always been popular. Absolute idiots who want to shut it down.
  • Andy Brooke WIVENHOE
    I am one of hundreds of local people who regularly enjoy using the building to watch movies in walking distance of my home.
  • Jo Wheatley WIVENHOE
    In 2008 the Wivenhoe Town Plan identified a need for more spaces for community activities. Since then Wivenhoe’s population has grown significantly with no concurrent increase in such facilities. ECC consistently pay lip service only to ‘building thriving, sustainable communities’. County politicians and officers concerned should be deeply ashamed of the way Phillip Rd user groups are being treated. Some years ago they pulled funding for ECC youth services in Wivenhoe and show no acknowledgment of the incredible voluntary work of the youth club. The least they can do is support the user groups to find alternative accommodation and provide appropriate funding support.
  • Maresa Padmore NORWICH
    I have had the great pleasure of watching films at Moving ImageCinema. It’s an experience that brings heart to a community like Wivenhoe, strolling along to a familiar venue in your own town to share the enjoyment of cinema with friends and those with whom you have a nodding acquaintance. It engenders goodwill and a sense of community and value. I have particularly enjoyed the family films, sitting with my teenagers in the room they played in at toddler group a decade or so ago. And now the youth club is also to lose its home? This sense of place is important to people’s identity and the way they relate to those they live amongst. A solution must be found.
  • Anna Fairgrieve COLCHESTER
    We must protect community projects in Wivenhoe
  • Shaun Boughton ESSEX
    This closure affects a lot of people keep it open
  • Vanessa Baxter SCUNTHORPE
    I attend the film club and my grand daughter attends ballet classes there
  • Joe O’Brien WIVENHOE
    As a teenager, at a difficult time in my life I attended the youth centre, keeping me and all the other youths off the streets and out of (certain) trouble. The youth centre performs a vital service in giving young people a place to go, be safe, congregate, have fun and be inspired. Take this away and you will see anti-social behaivour rise, crime rise etc etc etc. The closure of this institution WILL HAVE A DETRIMENTAL AFFECT ON OUR COMMUNITY. Also, anecdotely i know of 3 people, from my year alone, that attended the Colne Bank School of Dancing and have gone on to have Hugely successful careers. THIS IS A VERY VERY VERY BAD MOVE. REVERSE IT NOW.
  • Hilary Cook WIVENHOE
    As nieh of the centre we have always supported its community
  • jane black WIVENHOE
    It is absurd to leave the building unused while its fate is being decided
  • Jason Cobb WIVENHOE
    #localism is DEAD. Long Live Localism?
  • Hazel Humphreys WIVENHOE
    The Phillip Road Centre provides an invaluable hub for community arts groups. We can’t afford to lose it.
  • Alin Petcu COLCHESTER
    The community facilities are important and we should maintain them.
  • Liam Child COLCHESTER
    I live in Wivenhoe
  • margrit fauland-blackburn WIVENHOE
    phillip road for the people
  • Dave Purdey WIVENHOE
    There is no other place like it in Wivenhoe- it must stay open
  • Becky Smith COLCHESTER
    I feel that this Centre is vital to the community and for it to be out of use would be devastating.
  • Jack Bongard COLCHESTER
    I have always loved coming here with my family.
  • Janet Bongard COLCHESTER
    I have been coming to this cinema for years and started taking my children when they were growing up so this is an extremely important place to them and us as we feel it is valuable to Wivenhoe as a community.
  • Helena Bongard COLCHESTER
    I have been to the cinema there numerous times and thoroughly enjoyed the experience because of the cosy atmosphere which differs from mainstream cinemas.
  • Becky Hart COLCHESTER
    I have been dancing at Phillip Road Centre for 14 years and the place is really important for me and for the community.
  • William Collins WIVENHOE
    A great centre in the community, used for many differing activities and hosts the great film club, popular with many.
  • Kellie Hill SUTTON
    It is a great thing. Good for students at the university
  • Christiane Sherwen UNITED KINGDOM
    Wivenhoe needs to keep all the community space that it currently uses. Interest in this building has been made very clear. It is entirely unreasonable for ECC to ignore local views in this way. What is Localism about if not retaining this building?
  • Annie Bielecka. MA UNITED KINGDOM
    We need all our community spacesin fact,we need additional resources in this active and thriving town, why was there no proper consultation ? Lease reconsider this
  • kim jlp WIVENHOE
    This is disgusting! A well used community resource that is value to the community here locally. What is the justification to exc community groups exactly?? Another example of hap hazzzard top down descion making. Stop dissolving services it would take ten fold the funds saved to re provide these services and the council ignore the external social costs. Eg young people with no where to go increase costs from antisocial crimes. Etc etc etc so many reasons not to close it where is the reasob to close it?
  • Philip Hancock COLCHESTER
    A valuable community resource – daughter attends youth club.
  • Anne-Marie huggon WIVENHOE
    we must not lose any more community facilities, they are what unite the community.
  • Michelle Paul WIVENHOE
    The youth in our local youth club will be greatly disadvantaged by this closure. I don’t see how the Essex County Council can feel comfortable simply turning all our community groups out of this building on short notice and with no consultation.
  • Steve Goldsmith WIVENHOE
    Community spirit is essential to maintain
  • Daryl Williamson WIVENHOE
    Wivenhoe has insufficient public amenities and the build should be preserved
  • Sara Barker WIVENHOE
    The Philip Road centre is a valued and useful resource for the community.
  • Richard Allen WIVENHOE
    this is an important local amenity
  • Pip Scott COLCHESTER
    Phillip Road is a thriving part of the community – don’t lock us out!
  • Peter Hill WIVENHOE
    The Phillip Road Centre is and has been an important community venue for large groups that need a large venue. ECC should make alternative provision for them.
  • Lee Tasker WIVENHOE
    It’s part of the community and is well used by the community
  • Rosanne Barr WIVENHOE
    I live there much of the time
  • Jamie Witham COLCHESTER
    Because I know people that use it.
  • Clare Hawkins WIVENHOE
    The building at Philip Road is a very important community venue which greatly enhances the cultural life of the town. It must be kept for use by the community!
  • Pat Marsden WIVENHOE
    The Phillip Road school is not only a community asset listed on the CBC Community Assets Register and the Wivenhoe Local List it is a vital community resource. It is essential to retain it as a living resource for the groups who are currently using it and groups who may wish to use it in the future.
  • Charlotte Bernays WIVENHOE
    In general,because a facility such as Phillip Road is essential for the well being of any community .Without the use of this building these groups will have nowhere to continue to function . In particular , Moving Image , Wivenhoe’s established Independent cinema which represents an exciting and positive addition to the town , supported by hard working volunteers and enjoyed by people both in and out of Wivenhoe will be unable to carry on.
  • Mary Dodds COLCHESTER
    I loved volunteering there, it offers great opportunity for everyone. As i’m studying film it’s helped me have a wider film knowledge and I love everyone who helps out there!!!!!
  • Chan Walrus WIVENHOE
    I live in Wivenhoe, this facility has meant a lot to so many people over the years. In the name of art and beauty, don’t shut it down.
  • John Wallett COLCHESTER
    Phillip Road was for decades a thriving community centre and was very well used before it became a part of the Pupil Referral Unit. Now that it is no longer required by the Schools service it can be a community centre again. Rather than have it sit empty for six months or a year we want it to remain open to existing users and attract interest from potential new users… it’s a terrible waste of space, resources and money already spent to shut it down. Why not ask us to come up with an interim plan so that it is a asset rather than a liability for Essex and for the community.
  • Louis Kolodziej COLCHESTERI love movies and I beleive is our duty to promote this art not only for young people to promote culture but as a form of entertainment for everybody to enjoy (aside from pubs !!!) . The activities available to young people in wivenhoe are limited , closing it would be a terrible step and a letdown to the local community !
  • Romy Sparke COLCHESTER
    A very useful facility for local people, would be disastrous to lose it.
  • Kelly Dearing WIVENHOE
    Community space is paramount for a good community to exist. The less of it you have the more you have youngsters hainging around where they are not wanted.
  • Aiden Mills COLCHESTER
    Would be a great loss to the local community and if gone. Moving Image offers a greater variety of films than the Colchester Odeon, as well as supporting indie flicks as well as Hollywood Blockbusters, and for a reasonable price.
  • george mckissock WIVENHOE
    Why has this decision been made without consulting the local community?
  • Lewis Footring WIVENHOE
    Young people are so little catered for in Wivenhoe. They need this facility, to say nothing of the popularity of Moving Image
  • Halcyon Palmer WIVENHOE
    -,It is used regularly and will be a loss to the community
  • Fiona Emms WIVENHOE
    I live here . It is an important community facility that should be made more available not less
  • Michael Fletcher WIVENHOE
    An invaluable community resorce
  • Sarah Barnard WIVENHOE
    The Colne Bank school of dance, The Hub and Moving Image are integral parts of the Wivenhoe community. We do not want another wasted building like the engine shed.
  • Graeme Roberts WIVENHOE
    Its an important meeting place for so many people
  • Chistopher Ellis WIVENHOE
    It’s a very important community resource.
  • Ian Wing FRIMLEY
    As a former local resident I appreciate the benefits for the local community which have accrued for users of this building.
  • Pru Green WIVENHOE
    Because it matters to young people’s education and forward movement
  • Dilly Meyer WIVENHOE, COLCHESTER
    This forms part of my community, don’t take it away from us.
  • John Mcaleavy WIVENHOE
    I am a member of moving image and my daughter learnt to dance at Phillip Road and the building should be kept as a community facility
  • Lucy Margetts FRINTON ON SEA
    I believe that a centre like this is crucial to supporting teenagers and community activities. Young people need to have somewhere safe to go with people who understand their needs.
  • Ivy Dillon COLCHESTER
    It’s just a real shame
  • james newman WIVENHOE
    Big society in action, that is people who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
  • Ruby Dillon COLCHESTER
    Because the wankers only care about money and themselves, shutting down this place will ruin a lot of children’s goals, I know a few actors from a group I used to be in who wouldn’t have the reputation and skill without this place.
  • Sue Whytock WIVENHOE
    For all the reasons stated so eloquently by michael Padmore
  • Cyril Liddy WIVENHOE
    Phillip Road is a much needed and much loved community resource. It brings local people together and it is irreplaceable. We will not let go of it!
  • Connor Murphy WIVENHOE
    This hall is important to the town and the MANY people who use it. There are no suitable alternatives, which would be a heavy blow to the friendly community of Wivenhoe. It is foolish to let such an established part of the community become simply ‘locked out’.
  • Les Bell WIVENHOE
    The community groups which use Phillip Road will have no alternative premises: a community without a youth club is likely to experience more deliquency, the Colne Bank School of Dance has been there for over 40 years, the Moving Image cinema brings together many people socially, including older people; how can you justify taking resources away from the community like this?
  • Patsy Cosgrove WIVENHOE
    The loss of this community space will be a devastating blow for our community.