MEMBERS ARGUE CASE TO KEEP CLUB OPEN

10:00 - 10 April 2008

Pensioners fighting to keep a Midsomer Norton social club open will meet their former bosses as they campaign to ensure its future.Wansdyke MP Dan Norris (Labour) will join Alcan LMPA Pensioners' Association chairman Keith Ball and president Brian Nairn to put forward the case for Mardon's Social Club remaining open to the owners of the former Alcan packaging site, at a meeting on Friday, April 25. The social club has about 700 members who regularly meet for social events, with a calendar of entertainment every weekend.

They also raise thousands of pounds through charity functions.

When Alcan closed its factory at the end of 2006 the management said it would not renew the lease on the clubhouse, which is on the same site.

It has since given the club a stay of execution until June this year.

Mr Nairn said: "We are looking forward to the meeting and have put together a multi-media presentation that will put our case for the club to continue.

"We are keeping our fingers crossed that the meeting will be successful and we will have good news."

Earlier this year, the group staged a protest at the beginning of its annual meeting to show the strength of feeling among members, who are all former Alcan workers and use the clubhouse on a regular basis.

Alcan's management has agreed that the club has a social benefit but said it had no legal or moral responsibility to retain it after the lease expires in June.

Since the last shift finished more than 12 months ago the factory buildings have not been used, although security guards are still on site.

A total of 218 jobs were lost with the Alcan closure, which came a year after Polestar Purnell, in Paulton, shut its doors with the loss of 425 jobs.