Community Partnership for Old Ceasars club, Cowley Rd., Cowley, Uxbridge.
Business Overview

The Old Ceasars Members club has recently been closed. It was refurbished prior to this a few years ago. As such it has a bar area and dance-floor / activity space that could be harnessed for meetings or class tuition.

Concept

The Red Cross are currently planning to relocate and the ST John are in need of a centre for their South of Hillingdon branch. This could be combined with the Need for a venue for the Universities community service and senior scouts and guides from the Nearby Brunel and Bucks universities so as to train all for service in the emergency services to aid in the development of teaching and training of cadets in all sectors in line with current state sector best practice. This could tie in with the need for more cooperation and coordinated training for Church youth workers expressed by Hillingdon Deanery Synod at its meetings over the past year to ensure that the church can sustain and promote the next generation into employment both locally and further afield so as to allow our faith to continue in its historic home.

How would this work?
Seek the Council to buy the Caesars’ Club with grants from the various charities, themselves and from the private sector and then let it out to a charitable company similar to the one being set up for Hillingdon School of Gymnastics. The Council would then provide a Youth Centre training courses for Brunel Community Action Students and former DofE participants and assistants who have shown the necessary aptitudes in teaching courses and training their own, augmented by training in Church of England procedures by the Children’s Society and a new position to Deanery Synod of Lead children’s advocate, elected by the Deanery Synod representatives from the churches Children’s Advocates reps and answerable to a position at St Paul’s Cathedral that would be full time and paid. This position would be crucial for the church to have as it would ensure that Children’s advocates could have a shared pool of knowledge and resources and someone to cross check with who is experienced in these matters by virtue of a legal or educational background (This isn’t Ireland of previous generations after all and would prevent another Ray Lewis regardless of that individuals qualifications, status or degrees moving churches, in the worst case it would also be a check on the Lay Ministers or Youth Workers gone bad to prevent security of tenure being turned into immunity from prosecution).

If the Scouts and Guides prospective and current leaders meet these criteria they too could be certificated in this format at the same venue but might opt to hire it out themselves (which would bring in needed revenue) as they are non discriminatory as to the kind of God or faith or Christian denomination you have to believe in. Those based at Anglican churches could opt in to the church company, leaving others to do as I have suggested above. This Youth Workers training and resource centre would thus become a key venue and show the church at its best.

Ok why at this venue?
Because it would:
a) be near Uxbridge and the centre of the borough
b) Be near a Church Hall and thus if successful could expand to that aiding the parish considerably (who would have a seat on the companies board similar to the Parish priest being a church school governor).
c) Help to integrate Town and Gown in a positive way, not all undergraduates are Drunken Layabouts and not all Christian Unions are ad hoc to the Evangelical Alliance and Bible bashers leafleting on the U3 bus. These stereotypes are what would prevent the Anglicans amongst them (students) settling in this borough and would thus create a brain drain, no matter how good the universities and colleges are or the improved journey times to London that Cross rail would bring in 2017/18. This plays into ethnic sectarianism and is thus a danger with the Far Right BNP now in Brussels and the London Assembly. The Community Service Volunteers in the Universities could develop the qualifications needed to work as volunteer assistants in local churches so that if they felt working with young people was their chosen vocation and compatible with their faith under Canon B 15 A 1(b)
d) It (the venue) has had a troubled past and rather than more housing it would develop a way out for the children of the historic drink and drugs problems of residents near the canal into meaningful careers in the emergency services if joining the armed services is not for them without it being linked to a drinking culture, thus giving them an advantage over their peers in other areas.

How much would it cost?
This would need the research of a qualified accountant and estate agent as at present the building is only open for commercial renting.

What would its weekend usage be?
As a community centre with food and drink being supplied by local businesses, DofE courses for 18-25 year olds could also be run for the student community nearby. On a Sunday the parking could be used by the Temple next door to protect community relations or the Brethren could use the venue on a peppercorn rent rate as it’s near their historic home.

So is this idea workable?
Yes and it would reclaim Christianity’s reputation from allegations of abuse that have dogged it of late and fake ids allowing ‘modelling’ to get out of hand in the London Diocese.

James Ware Dip HE, CertEd, BELA
UWA 2001-2 DofE soc chair.
jaware25@hotmail.com