End of volunteer car scheme
A POPULAR transport scheme will fold next week due to a lack of funds.
Battle Area Community Transport announced plans to stop the volunteer car scheme at its annual meeting in January.
At its height, the pilot scheme ferried around 200 people a month to hospital appointments. But charity bosses felt the scheme did not get enough financial help from health and social care bosses.
Addressing Battle Town Council on Tuesday night, BACT chairman Colin Harmer said: "We did not get a lot of help from social services and the Primary Care Trust. They did not reply to any of our letters."
However the car scheme will live on in some villages, run by volunteers in their own parish.
Westfield, Mountfield and Ticehurst now all have their own schemes.
The charity also runs a community bus scheme, which relies on continuous donations, and it was feared this could collapse if the car scheme was allowed to keep running.
But the future is now looking rosier for BACT which is looking at purchasing a new bus to replace one of its older vehicles.
The charity has had a further boost with a 10,000 donation from a local group.
Mr Harmer said: "Looking at the future, I hope if we get this new bus we will be able to carry on and get stronger. I think we have turned a corner because this time last year I felt I was looking at a brick wall."
l A golf tournament in aid of Battle Area Community Transport is due to take place soon, but organisers need help to run it. Last year the first tournament raised 2,500 for the charity and organisers hope to surpass that total. and are keen to hear from anyone who would be willing to help out. Please contact Battle Area Community Transport on 01424 772001.
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Weather for St Leonards-on-Sea
Friday 10 February 2012
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