THE Chase Neighbourhood Centre is a thriving community hub in the middle of St Ann's. With activities and clubs on offer, as well as a benefits and welfare service and a vibrant cafe, it is popular with people of all ages.

But behind the scenes, the sums don't add up and Nottingham City Council has forked out a one-off grant of £25,000 to keep it open. This will only be enough to keep the centre open until March.

The centre has been run by the not-for-profit Renewal Trust since 2009 but so far they have failed to make it financially sustainable.

The building is owned by the council and was previously managed by the Chase Action Group, which filed for insolvency in 2008, and closed.

Renewal Trust chief executive Cherry Underwood is determined to keep it open for local residents – but the services will come at a price.

Insurance, energy bills, water and an alarm system cost £16,000 per year – and that is before staff wages are included.

Ms Underwood said: "We've got massive overheads. It's not a big centre, it's not a particularly old centre, it's reasonably economic to run but it's very, very costly."

The trust, established in 1997 to help people living in poverty in St Ann's and Sneinton, raises cash by renting out rooms at the centre and applying for grants. It also runs three business centres in the area, which helps generate some income.

It also manages the Sycamore Millennium Centre and the Brendon Lawrence Sports Centre in St Ann's.

When they took over the Chase Neighbourhood Centre, a deal was struck to ensure the council remained responsible for all external repairs.

But even so last year the Renewal Trust put about £20,000 into the centre and Ms Underwood expects it will be the same this year.

"It's top of our priorities to keep it running but there has to be a limit as to how much we can put in it," she said.

It comes at a time when more councils are turning to community organisations to run facilities.

The city council is proposing to transfer Portland Leisure Centre to such an organisation, claiming it cannot keep up with capital costs. Similarly, Rushcliffe Borough Council is looking into whether leisure centres in Keyworth and Cotgrave could be handed over to community groups.

Ms Underwood said: "Community asset transfer will be flavour of the month as local authorities across the country will be offloading buildings, libraries, leisure centres, community centres – but there's so much that needs to be considered."

The trust is applying for grants and hopes to also work closely with the new St Ann's Valley Centre, which will house doctors' surgeries, St Ann's Library, a housing office and a pharmacy but Ms Underwood said it did not have meeting rooms or a café, and hoped these services would be rented from the Chase Neighbourhood Centre, adding: "There will be changes but I'm pretty sure we can keep it running in the future."

Councillor Dave Liversidge, portfolio holder for housing, regeneration and the community sector, said: "The funding for the Chase Community Centre was agreed so that the building remained open while the Renewal Trust secures additional sources of funding and develops a business model for the centre to ensure its long-term stability.

"The centre provides a variety of activities for children, teenagers and adults including the elderly, and provides housing and welfare rights services and a community café. There was no practical alternative as closure of the centre, even for a short time, would have meant activities coming to an end and the building being mothballed while new premises would have to be found in the area for other services such as welfare rights and housing."