ALTON Community Association (ACA) has confirmed that despite fears of a lack of transparency and public consultation surrounding the process, it took over the operation of Alton Assembly on Friday April 1.

After a Collaboration Agreement with Alton Town Council (ARC)?had been signed, ACA chairman Pat Lerew said: “Existing hirers of the rooms have been contacted and assured that their bookings will be honoured and that prices will remain fixed until September 2016, by which time we hope to have completed a review of the pricing structure to ensure that it is competitive and comparable to Alton Community Centre.”

Mrs Lerew added: “ It will be business as usual for all users who will see many of the same friendly faces as they did before.

“It is our intention to run the Assembly Rooms and the community centre as a single unit, thereby achieving a more streamlined service for the people of Alton. Bookings for both buildings should be made via the Community Centre on 01420 85057.”

ACA, the board of trustees responsible for running the Community Centre, is determined that “the changeover should not affect existing hirers or users of the community centre in any way and all visitors will receive the same welcoming smiles at both venues as they always have done. Both buildings will continue to be fully manned during all hirings.”

While ATC will retain ownership of the Grade II-listed building responsibity for its maintenance and general upkeep it has handed over caretaking, booking and marketing services for the Assembly Rooms to ACA.

ATC says the arrangement will enable it to continue to offer the same service at the Assembly Rooms but at a much reduced cost to the council. The operational responsibility transferred to ACA will run for an initial period of four years from April 1. The annual fee is £23,000, to be reviewed annually.

In addition, the parties have agreed an annual budgeted income from hiring the rooms for year 1 at £33,000 – 100 per cent of which will go to ATC, with 50% of anything above that figure being kept by ACA.

Based on the projected figures the loss to the public created by the facility is expected to reduce from an annual average of £20,000-£30,000, to £5,000.

Mrs Lerew was upbeat about the challenge ACA faced in taking on the running of the Assembly Rooms and its determination to make the undertaking work for all concerned.

She said: “We havereceived enthusiastic support from the people of Alton for all of the 40 years that we have been open and we look forward to receiving the same support to help us make this new collaborative arrangementl a great success.”