People say they feel “angry and betrayed” as community centres across the borough face closure because of rent costs.

Haringey Council will no longer offer grants or cheaper rents to community centres across the borough, sparking uproar from those who rely on them.

Organisations from across Haringey met at Hornsey Vale Community Centre met on Monday night to discuss their uncertain future.

Lynne Brackley, the chairman of Hornsey Vale Community Centre management committee said: “It is very disrespectful.

“What has been agreed upon by the council is very different to what we all were led to believe.

“Charging full rent is an unmanageable situation.”

Bob Packham of the Hornsey Vale management committee said he felt “angry and betrayed” by the council.

He said: “It’s about looking at the value of the property we have and what they can get. They are forcing us to become a commercial service.

“They are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”

The Selby Centre in Tottenham will also be affected.

CEO of The Selby Trust, Sona Mahtani said: “This is a challenging time for us. Our way of working is to be as sustainable as possible. We do it because we care about people in the local community.

“Taking out an important part of the funding will be devastating for local people. The long term impact is what were are worried about. The provisions are not there in the council’s agreements.”

Ms Mahtani said the Selby Centre’s food bank, elderly support organisations, mental health services and other facilities are there to save the council money.

She said the new system means they will be forced to put prices up for the 40 charities that operate from there, which would cause many of them to close.

Ms Mahtani said: “We are not a community centre that can afford to pay its rent and staff without the grant. Take away the grant and the effects could be devastating.”

In 2017, the grant will be cut, meaning they will have to pay 40 per cent of rent. By 2019, this rises to 100 per cent.

Sarah Miller, of Markfield Community Centre, accused the council of “short term thinking.”

She said: “The long term legacy of the centres, the 30 years of good relationship we have with the council, is going to be lost. There is a level of fear now.”

The council are proposing five year leases – which may lead to withdrawals of lottery funding due to a lack of guarantees.

These leases will begin when the current contract for a centre ends – some have years to run, others are about to run out.

The council feel it is better for the centres to operate from the same agreement.

Susie Constantinides, of the Cypriot Community Centre, said: “No one will give you funding if, in five years’ time, you might not even exist.

“We provide a service that the borough cannot. We provide services in parallel with the council.

“The people who us, where will they go?”

The groups would also still have to pay for any damages or breakages on site – meaning they will have to pay both rent and maintenance to the council.

The review was passed on July 14, with community groups saying they were not consulted on the changes.

A Haringey Council Spokesperson said: “We value the huge contribution that voluntary and charitable organisations make to the lives of thousands of people in Haringey.

“That’s why we are withdrawing from payment on a phased basis over a two year period from April 2017 until April 2019. Instead we will offer a fairer, more consistent rental approach for all organisations.

“This will include giving charities the opportunity to apply for a 40 per cent rental discount and offering individual support to any organisation affected by these changes.”