THE CHAIRWOMAN of a popular flower club has complained about spiralling venue hire costs in Wanstead after struggling to find a new home for the group's meetings.

Leyton and Wanstead Flower Club has held its final meeting at Cambridge Park Methodist Church hall after being told the site was due to close at the end of the month.

Members of the group, which had met at the hall for ten years, found most alternative meeting places in Wanstead were either unavailable or too expensive.

Their plight echoes that of other community groups in the west of Redbridge which have complained about rises in the cost of hiring venues such as Hawkey Hall and Redbridge Drama Centre.

Club chairwoman Pam Ford, a grandmother-of-one, said the club - which will now meet at Wanstead Quaker Meeting House in Bush Road - was lucky to find an affordable venue.

She said: "It's sad that we've had to move.

"I searched for other halls in the area for us to meet in, but they were far too expensive. One wanted £70 an hour and we need it for three hours.

"We are just a community group. We don't have that sort of money.

"The average in Wanstead was between £40 and £50 an hour.

"Luckily the Quaker Meeting House was much more affordable."

Mrs Ford believes many local clubs and community groups are suffering the same dilemma.

She said: "We have people from all different backgrounds in our club.

"We've been told that to get involved in our local community groups, but it's just getting harder for them to exist because of the cost of hiring places to meet.

"Churches and other venues could help by making it more affordable to meet there."

To find out more about the Leyton and Wanstead Flower Club, which is looking for new members, call Pam Ford on: 8524 6526.