THE recently-closed Barrington Centre in Ferndown has been let down by the district council, according to a trustee.

Just days before the East Dorset District Council-owned centre’s sudden closure on Friday, Councillor Steve Lugg said that the authority was neglecting the town in its spending plans. The council has denied this.

Referring to its capital expenditure programme, Cllr Lugg posted on Facebook on Monday: “Why are all of EDDC’s assets receiving such generous financing yet the Barrington is struggling to survive with a reduced SLA and next to no capital investment?

“It is no secret that the Barrington is losing money, struggling to pay staff and bills with a £2,500 electricity bill and £1,200 gas bill each month.”

Cllr Lugg, also a Ferndown town councillor, told the Daily Echo he was “personally liable” as a trustee of the operating community association charity and he didn’t want to comment further.

But on Facebook last week, he said the district council had recently earmarked or spent £136,000 for the Priest House Museum in Wimborne, £219,000 for Wimborne’s Allendale Centre and £260,000 on Wimborne footbridge, but only £5,000 on the Barrington Centre.

“What may we ask is being spent in Ferndown - £5k on the Barrington next year – in fact, out of the entire £4,427,300 in the current Capital Budget Programme you can only see a total of £51,700 being spent in EDDC’s largest town!!!” he said.

Cllr Lugg said the Barrington Centre’s roof was “leaking extensively” and the windows were “in shocking condition”. “The building has a G rating for efficiency – the worst rating there is, yet nothing is being done by the landlord EDDC,” he said.

The following day, Tuesday, Cllr Lugg posted: “I have given so much time, but to no avail. Makes me feel useless. I feel those with the power to support our Community Association have let down the staff, volunteers and residents.”

Cllr Ray Bryan, the district council's portfolio holder for performance, said the authority had spent £36,000 on the centre in the past three years and its cabinet had only last week approved a £30,000 grant towards fixing the roof, as well as the continuation of plans for a multi-million pound regeneration of Ferndown.

"We only have so much money we can spend," he said. "It is no secret that it is getting more and more tough getting people to spend money to go out to shows."