MP on a mission to save Enfield Royal British Legion club (From Enfield Independent)
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MP on a mission to save Enfield Royal British Legion club
5:21pm Thursday 2nd August 2012 in News By Hermione Wright
Club members outside the Royal British Legion club in Holtwhites Hill
An MP has called for action to save a Royal British Legion club in Chase Side from imminent closure.
Nick de Bois, MP for Enfield North, has written to the president of the Royal British Legion, Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszely, asking to set up a meeting about the future of the club in Holtwhites Hill.
The club, which has 400 members, was told by the Royal British Legion last month it will have to close after it has incurred debts of over £8,300.
The MP, who is yet to receive a response, said: “I have written to the president of the British Legion saying there are possible solutions but what I need to do is if we can get a meeting to find that solution.
“I have asked for a meeting to try to understand what is going on. They could tell me to get lost but they probably won’t.”
Club chairman Chris Pizalla, 50, broke the news to club members last month, many of whom have been visiting since it opened in Holtwhites Hill in 1971.
Mr Pizalla, who has chaired the club for two years, even offered to use his own money to pay off the club’s debts, but the Royal British Legion failed to accept.
The MP said although he understands the financial issues the club has, a lot of people understand and support the Royal British Legion and it is important to save it.
He added: “We all know the good work the legion do and the events they are involved in nationally.
“It is a popular place and provides a social life for many people. It saddened me to hear of the loss of one of our last remaining legions in a borough that has a long history of the armed forces.”
Club secretary Maria Hamer, 57, who had worked at the club for ten years, said: “It is really good of him. He felt for us because it is a major part of the community. We need to fight for it.
“It is a great relief to have him on side, he picked up on it straight away.”
