Caring charity in desperate need of new home

The charity's organiser, Jill Halsall, says she has hardly slept for three months for worrying about how the organisation will cope.

Bexhill Council of Voluntary Service chairman Pauline Bullock told last week how the rising cost of maintaining the BCVS's century-old offices in Sackville Road had forced the "umbrella" organisation to sell.

Mrs Bullock told the Observer that the BCVS intended that by sharing its assets - including the proceeds of the sale of the property - among the affiliated charities which had operated from the building their futures would be assured.

But Mrs Halsall said this week: "We have been here for 22 years. We just cannot find any new premises. We thought we had found an alternative but the survey showed it had a lot of problems.

"We just don't know where to go - and that's what we are desperate about. There just don't seem to be any other suitable properties in the town."

Four people currently share the Sackville Road office. But the organisations volunteers offer a wide variety of services, from shopping for the housebound to library books and chiropody.

Jill Halsall says: "We are looking after 2,200 vulnerable people at present, plus all the other services as well. Now we just don't know which way to turn.

"The BCVS went to auction in June and these premises were sold. The new owners have been very good. They are allowing us to stay on for at least two months. But it is costing us 1,000 a month. We were paying 3,000 a year rent to the BCVS.

"The place was sold on June 4. Officially, we should have been out on June 30.

"We negotiated successfully with the new owners because it will take at least eight weeks to them to get change of use (planning permission) on the place.

"We have been looking for new premises since this came to light. I started looking in February. We looked at the offices on the seafront but the De La Warr Pavilion Trust have taken it.

"We looked at Endwell Road and thought that we could go in with the Citizens Advice Bureau when they moved there from here.

"We were going to give the Community Bus a desk when we moved, because they have had to get out as well.

"Our only contingency plan if all else fails is to get the phones transferred to my home and for the Dial-A-Ride phone to be transferred to the home of the lady who runs that.

"But we need a town centre office and it has to be ground floor or where else will people go when they need help?

"I have had three months with hardly any sleep over this. But wherever you try had either just gone or is no use."

*Anyone with suitable premises available is asked to contact Jill Halsall on 215116.