London Regional ICT champion

After nearly 10 years of operation providing help, advice and training to local community and businesses Brixton Online has been forced to close down.

On it’s website, BOL lays the blame for its sad demise squarely at the door of statutory funders, particularly the LDA, for pushing it into deficit:

“[BOL has been]…..dependent on the public sector and government grants to deliver its programme of activities aimed at the most disadvantaged in London. This funding has been crucial in enabling BOL to achieve so much but it also has its down sides. Delays in payments, payment in arrears, cost only contracts and uncertainty over contract renewal made cashflow management very difficult. This came to a head in 2005 when re-structuring of several funding agencies, the end of Single Regeneration Budget funding and severe delays to payments for work undertaken for the LDA pushed BOL into deficit for the first time.

“The last year and a half have seen BOL work hard to reduce its deficit through cutting costs and winning new business. In the year to March 2007 we have made a trading profit, however continuing cashflow problems and the overall reduction of government funding going into the areas that BOL specialises in, have forced the BOL Directors to take the hard decision to voluntarily go into liquidation. Liquidators Portland have been appointed by the Board to see through the winding up of the business.”

BOL began life with a start up grant from Brixton Challenge in the mid 1990s, and specialised in delivering ICT support programmes to local community groups, start-up businesses, and individuals.  You can read the full list of BOL’s considerable achievements on their website.

Brixton Online will be much missed and we wish the all those connected with it all the best for the future.

Sadly, this is not the first time we’ve heard such a withering assessment of statutory funders, and if ever a case highlights the continuing need for statutory funders to support those seeking to capacity build ICT with the most disadvantaged communities this is it.