The Petition of Residents of the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and others,

Declares the Petitioners’ serious concerns about the closure of College Park Community Centre and the methods in which the decision to close the College Park Community Centre was reached.

The Petitioners therefore request the House of Commons urge the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to use her powers to reverse the decision to close College Park Community Centre.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Mr. Andy Slaughter, Official Report, 5 July 2007; Vol. 462, c. 1165.] [P000040]

Observation from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government:

The Government understands and recognises the concerns of local residents in Hammersmith and Fulham about the closure and disposal of local community facilities. However, the Secretary of State does not have legal powers to intervene in local decisions about the disposal or closure of community assets.

That said, the Government’s policy is to encourage local authorities and their partners to take a more strategic approach to asset management, including consideration of more community management and ownership of assets, as set in the Quirk review “Making Assets Work” and the Government’s response to the Quirk review “Opening the transfer window”.