The board of Gracemount Youth and Community Centre, reportedly ousted by council chiefs keen to assume responsibility for the running of the centre, maintains it will this month retain control over services for young people in the area.

The centre, dogged by reports of a lack of service provision and a growing public view that it is rarely open, was still manned by the chair of the board elected at last year's AGM when The Echo paid a visit to The Mansion.

Elaine Wastle, pictured right, said that youth clubs and excursions would resume following the Easter break and that interested parties should call her at the centre to express an interest in attending.

When The Echo reported to the centre for a pre-arranged interview, staff there said that a contractor employed by the council had visited The Mansion earlier in the day with the intention of changing the locks on the doors there. At the time of going to print, it was unconfirmed whether the council intended to change the locks on the building and it was unclear what such a move would mean for tenants of the building, including South Edinburgh Amenities Group (SEAG).

It is understood the council seconded responsibility for the running of the centre to a board of management who, in turn, delegated duties to a full-time worker – in recent years, Max Volino – but that arrangement appeared to be in jeopardy due to the "non-cooperative" nature of the current board.

Ms Wastle, who worked at the centre both as a part-time youth worker and a volunteer before being dramatically elected to the position of chair at last year's AGM, said that difficulties had arisen since the council had not made clear the terms of the secondment agreement.

"There's no point in having a democratically-elected board if the council overrule whatever they decide," said Ms Wastle. "That's possibly the nature of being a community worker, though, where you're paid by the local government but respond to the needs of the community.

"If the council could give us a good reason for things they want us to do, I'm sure we could do it. We have invited the council to our monthly board meetings."

Ms Wastle said that the centre has been running a skeleton programme for almost two years, and she went on to blame the council for the failure of the centre to provide services for young people in South Edinburgh, saying that the city administration had failed to repair dangerous structural damage to the Lasswade Road building.

"We had boiler problems last year from January to March," she said, "which meant we had to operate a skeleton programme. In Easter last year, there were leaks everywhere, and Max [Volino] – who is responsible for health and safety – took the decision to close off rooms until summer. There were leaks in the roof and cracks in the cornicing, as well as boiler problems.

'The council hasn't said when the ceilings would be fixed."

Local citywide media in recent months reported Mr Volino's use of The Mansion as a living space, but Ms Wastle claims that – even though Mr Volino, she says, has since taken up residence in the Borders – he was forced to move out temporarily late last year because of the health hazard posed by the building.

"He had everything from wasp infestations, damp, and radiators not working. Another reason that we've had to run the skeleton programme is the lack of funding we've received from the council and the fact there aren't as many volunteers helping out as we had before."

In light of the conclusions drawn in the reports of council inspections on the centre in recent months, there remains uncertainty among users of the centre and the general public over the future of Max Volino as the full-time youth worker at The Mansion.

"The council have never disciplined him, and people at Community Learning and Development [CLD] have intimated that they want Max to run the centre under the auspices of the council," said Ms Wastle.

"Why aren't they getting rid of him if he's so bad? We don't agree with [the council report] – we have contested it. The work here is as good as, if not better than, other local centres.

"If they haven't locked us out, we'll continue to run," continued Ms Wastle. "We'll find another space and hope this goes to court."