VERWOOD’S The Hub, bailed out by district bosses to the tune of £45,000 less than four months ago, has been refused £7,500 to spend on computers.

Verwood town councillors rejected the request from new manager Jacqui Sainsbury, saying that it was premature and ‘needed to be costed properly’. Carol Sharples, who chairs the Verwood Hub Community Association, said Ms Sainsbury, the leisure centre manager who recently took over running the Hub, asked for the money.

“She used a particular computer support company and had a problem communicating at the Hub,” Mrs Sharples said.

“She asked them and an audit was done. It’s possibly something as simple as working on an Apple while others are Microsoft.”

Last December district bosses decided merging the VHCA and the Verwood Community Association, which runs the leisure centre, was the best solution to the Hub’s problems.

Talks with Morrisons over selling the leisure centre land in Chiltern Drive are ‘proving positive’, a council spokesman said.

They have been running for more than two years. Councillors will receive updates on March 14.

The VCA’s Mike Fry said the associations were working well together but a decision with Morrisons would be a ‘great assistance’.

County councillors recently backed proposals to open a Verwood Children’s Centre at The Hub under a 25-year lease.

Town councillor Michael Dolan confirmed that the VCA would disband in May so the groups can merge formally and appoint new directors in September.

“There are stormy times ahead as people may find themselves out in the cold,” he said.