Decades-old children’s charity pleads for council ‘rescue package’

Walking the plank: the charity is well known for its pirate ship. Photograph: AKS

A children’s play charity that has been running for over 30 years has urged Hackney Council to “rescue” it from collapse.

Albion Kids Show (AKS), which has taken mobile play equipment to estates across the borough since 1984, says it will be forced to close when the rent for its Hackney Wick storage depot rises from £3,000 to £19,000 on 1 October.

AKS trustee Paul Seacroft is also “upset and concerned” about what he describes as a “lack of core funding” from the council, after some of the charity’s recent applications for grants were rejected.

He said unless the council and its partners in the voluntary sector can come up with a “rescue package”, the charity will cease to exist: “We’ve been using the Hackney Wick depot since 1982 when it was worth nothing. In 2014, our peppercorn rent went up to £3000 a year. Now it’s going up again in October to £19,000, which is what will really kill us.

“We only use the space for storage because we have big equipment like our famous pirate ship, but the council doesn’t seem to distinguish between storage facilities and working offices when it comes to rent.

“When this devastating increase hits in October, we won’t be able to meet our obligations and this incredibly popular charity will have to stop running its services. For some children, AKS is the only chance they get to have a proper playtime.

“I know the council is facing cuts all over the place, but I would appeal to them to try and sort out some kind of rescue package before the charity shuts down.”

Seacroft says AKS used to have five permanent staff members but is now down to just one, Roger Barham, who has worked there since 1990.

Seacroft described Barham as a “legend” in the community, and said he recently took a voluntary 50 per cent pay cut to help keep the charity afloat.

He added: “Roger always has adults coming up to him and reminiscing about AKS. Some of them have children who are now using the charity, which is an amazing thing to see. It would be incredibly sad if we lost that.”

A Hackney Council spokesperson said: “We recognise that AKS is a much-loved local institution. We agreed with AKS in 2014 that they would pay just £3,000 a year rent – equivalent to 65p per square foot – for three years.

“We have also continued to provide them with some grant funding to allow them time to work up a survival plan and improve their financial position.

“We recognise the challenges that AKS face and offered them a further six-month extension of their current lease in the Spring and help with identifying a new site, but their existing rent level is not one that could continue for any organisation.”