Project bosses launch rescue bid

The House Project will have to leave its two-storey base in South Coast Road, Peacehaven, if £10,000 is not found soon.

Two full-time members of staff and three part-time workers, who supervise a team of volunteers, will lose their jobs if the centre closes.

Project manager Mary Dunmore said:" We are looking at the possibility of a rescue package and the House Project remains open while the viability of such a package is assessed.

"We will be having more meetings next week.

"We have been heartened by the support we have received urging us to find ways of keeping the project going."

The centre costs an estimated £80,000-a-year to run with most costs taken up by full-time staff salaries, although a team of volunteers help out.

Services the centre provides for residents in Telscombe and Peacehaven include an after-school club, an emergency food and clothing service, a community shop and a club for the over-50s.

There are also internet facilities and a room used by the Citizen's Advice Bureau.

The centre was set up with the help of funding from East Sussex County Council, Lewes District Council and Peacehaven Town Council to fill in gaps which social services cannot provide.

Other funding has come from sources including the National Lottery and Children In Need.

Telscombe councillor Joy De Souza, recently appointed to the project's management committee, said: "I did not realise how bad the finances were.

"The problem is we have been successful in getting funding in the past but this has been only for the short-term.

"We got two grants from the National Lottery but that only covered us for six years."

Liz Lee, lead councillor for community services on Lewes District, said: "It is used by a lot of people and it would be a tragedy if it closes.

"There are people in Telscombe and Peacehaven who rely on the services it provides and social services will have to pick up some of these cases."