A TROUBLED multi-million pound arts centre that has been dubbed “Verwood’s millennium dome” is asking for a £60,000 bail-out for bills and staff wages.

Three and a half years after opening, The Hub is still struggling to stay afloat and could close before Christmas if East Dorset District Council doesn’t meet its emergency funding request on Wednesday, November 24, a source said.

In a bid to save the venue, in Brock Way, and prevent further handouts, the council is looking to move fitness classes and equipment from Verwood Leisure Centre over to the Hub. This will involve building an extension and merging the management.

The relocation from Chiltern Drive would free up space for supermarket Morrisons to expand and build a petrol station in Chiltern Drive.

The Hub’s Chairman of Directors Carol Sharples defended the way the Hub, which took an extra £150,000 from the council in grant aid last year, is run.

She said: “We’ve really done quite well in just three and a bit years.

“A lot of businesses don’t get off the ground in that time, so we haven’t done too badly.”

The cancellation of an annual three-week event by Ringwood Soiree this autumn had been a “huge blow” financially, she said.

Mrs Sharples added that she looks forward to things being taken “under control” again and should be welcomed by members of the Leisure Centre, where facilities are “behind the times”.

Dorset County Council is also looking to open a Sure Start centre at The Hub.

EDDC leader Spencer Flower, who also represents the town at Dorset County Council, said the Hub has a bad business model and is spending more than it makes.

“We need to get it right and attract more people through the doors to make sure it survives,” he said.

“But the council doesn’t have endless pots of money.

“We’ll help, but they’ve got to help themselves and find a way out of their own problem.”