Lighthouse Project facing closure

Photo: Thomas Laisne

Steve Coogan, Patron of the Lighthouse Project

Local charity Inspire Middleton says the Lighthouse Project will be closing at Cromer Mill on 12 November unless there is a last minute reprieve by owners Pin Property Consultancy.

Carl Roach, Development Manager, said: "Despite several attempts at presenting the owners with alternative options they finally confirmed to us they are proceeding with other plans to develop and sell the site so will not be extending the licence.

“This is frustrating as we have ongoing funding, a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, hundreds of visitors, many community partners and a proved track record of helping people improve their lives, but the one thing we are missing is a permanent base of operation.

"Our disappointment is added to by the fact that nothing has been done at the Warwick Mill either, and since our eviction from there the building still lies empty and unused.

"Many have suggested to us that we should break up what we do and move out into a variety of smaller places, but being together is the strength of our work, and it is this that makes the difference. Organisations are being encouraged to do much more joined-up working nowadays which is what we already do, so breaking our work apart would definitely be a backward step.

"One of the hardest things at this time is seeing the impact this news is having on our visitors and those who use us as a daily lifeline, one person said ‘what am I going to do next week?’, which is a fair question but hard for us to answer right now.

"I just wish I could bottle up a typical day at the Lighthouse to let people see the impact we have and the buzz about the place so they could see the effect of the decisions that are being made around us.

"The Lighthouse Project is not in crisis but we simply can’t secure a building to operate from, we are not closing down permanently but until we find somewhere else to be we can’t yet say when we will re-open, but be assured we are working hard to find a solution.

"We were encouraged last week when our new patron Steve Coogan came for his first visit to the Cromer Mill, he was really impressed by what he saw and the professionalism of the team, and he spent quite a bit of time with us including talking to several of the regulars as if he came down to the centre every day."

Steve Coogan has said: "This is something I’m excited about, this is an excellent community project which I’m pleased to support and I add my voice to the call for a permanent base."

The Lighthouse Project has started an online petition where you can indicate your support for the work and add positive comments about how the project is helping people get back on track:

• http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/support-the-lighthouse-project-2016

Carl added: “Please remember we are not going away, we will re-open, and we will let you know as soon as something is sorted out.”