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Plea for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to stand by refuge (From Thisisdorset)
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Plea for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to stand by refuge
7:40am Thursday 3rd December 2009
A DESPERATE plea has gone out from Weymouth Refuge supporters to Weymouth and Portland Council to not ‘sabotage their chances’ of saving the refuge by axing a £14,000 grant.
This comes at a time when negotiations are at a crucial stage between refuge supporters and an agency interested in funding the Weymouth safe haven.
The plug was pulled on the Weymouth refuge in July when the £82,780 financial support from Supporting People was axed.
Since then supporters and service users have been fighting for the future of the refuge and handed over a 5,000-name petition to Dorset county councillors.
Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for South Dorset Ros Kayes has been involved in the ongoing discussions this week with a national agency to save the refuge from closing in March. She said: “Negotiations are at an early stage but are looking promising.
“It is imperative that the borough council do not axe their budget or make arrangements for the sale of the building.
“I would like to say to the committee ‘please don’t risk sabotaging them – keep that money in your budget for the next financial year.”
The borough council is considering how to plug budget gaps totalling almost £900,000. All services are being reviewed as a way of saving costs.
The freehold of the refuge is owned by the borough council and its £14,000 annual grant plays an essential part in the day-to-day running of the hostel.
Last year there were 174 adult referrals to the refuge – 52 were accepted and 26 women moved into the refuge.
A spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council said: “At the moment, nobody has come forward to say they are considering taking up the running of the refuge and therefore the budget report was made based on the information that it is closing and so would not require the funding.
“We still have not received any actual information to suggest that a third party will be taking it over.
“The decision by Dorset County Council to close the refuge frees up £14,000, which could be a saving in next year’s budget.”
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