Eastpoint Centre means business (From Daily Echo)
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Things on the up for Eastpoint Centre Thornhill
1:00pm Tuesday 9th October 2012 in News
By Luke Tugby, Senior reporter
Eastpoint Centre
IT is the state-of-the-art Southampton conference centre that was plunged into crisis just months after it opened.
The £10m Eastpoint centre, in Thornhill, was forced to cut around a quarter of its workforce in January, after what bosses called a “slow start” to business.
But now the three-storey community and business hub is bouncing back, after taking on new staff.
As previously reported by the Daily Echo, the centre made sweeping cuts to its 30-strong workforce, with eight redundancies understood to have been made.
Eastpoint Centre director, former Saints defender Paul Bennett, blamed the job losses on a late handover of the new building by construction firm Kier, causing a loss of summer business.
But the centre’s fortunes now appear to be on the up, after two new staff members were taken on.
Kerri Chalk has joined the team as event sales manager, while Laura Dixon takes up the role of bookings administrator.
Deputy director at Eastpoint centre, Carol Shakery, said: “We are delighted that Kerri and Laura have joined our team. We are committed to providing a first class venue with a quality, valuefor- money service and they can certainly add value to our clients’ event experience.
“We are really looking forward to the continuing development of the business and welcome any enquiries for events.”
The 3,770 sq m centre has a business centre with 17 meeting rooms, eight of which can open up into a large conference space to accommodate up to 600 people.
Smaller meeting rooms are available to community groups, from as little as £5 per hour.
Comments(3)
Paramjit Bahia
says...
4:33pm Tue 9 Oct 12
Paul is a great guy, but I believe his, along with his board’s, decision to make workers redundant was something I as trade unionist could not support. They’d served this place over the years very well, during both good and bad times, but when the Centre faced only a temporary problem, admittedly not because of its management’s fault, like every other ungrateful management East Point as organisation failed to look after workers and ditched them.
Hope as future is starting to look bright again, Paul and his fellow directors will contact the old workers and offer them employment before recruiting others. But I have hardly ever seen that kind of loyalty to workers by bosses in the past, so am not expecting this management to be any different than other sharks.
Having said that I am glad that East Point is starting to do well, which under this ConDem Coalition of convenience is not easy at all. Well done Paul
So congratulation to everybody involved with East Point, especially Paul and former Labour (certainly not NuLabour) councillor Jean Roost (I have to say that otherwise she will refuse to give me free gallons of coffee!!!) Seriously she has always taken great interest in this place and may even be the longest serving member on East Point Board.
Finally, yes I often am critical of John Denham, but he deserves full credit for not only starting the idea of East Point in the first place but also for keep on supporting it through thick and thin. Sadly same can not be said about his opponent Tory Smith, who has lumbered us with Hannidies Horror House, so called Sea City Museum, the eye sore attached to Civic Centre. Unlike East Point that is permanent mill stone around local Council’s financially fragile neck.
SaintM
says...
8:08pm Tue 9 Oct 12
Independent Thought says...
2:22pm Tue 9 Oct 12
I'd really encourage people to visit Eastpoint if they haven't already; I think you would be impressed.