Charity to shut after nearly 30 years

A charity which has supported residents of a city neighbourhood for almost three decades is set to close due to a lack of funding.

The Bridges Community Trust has provided services including food banks and help to find employment in the Meadows area of Nottingham since 1996.

However, despite efforts to adapt and generate income, the charity has now started the process of winding down its operations.

Miriam Gifford, chair of the trust, said the closure was "the end of an era".

"The fact is, we have run out of money," she said.

"You need an employed person [rather than a volunteer] to run the trust and handle the financial side, but we simply can't afford it anymore."

A final decision about the charity's closure will be signed off at a meeting later this month, but the trust said it had already started to transfer its assets to other local charitable organisations.

Ms Gifford said the trust had battled financial instability since Covid restrictions were lifted and had been forced to rely heavily on grants which often only covered specific projects rather than core operational costs.

She added the trust opened a small cafe at the Nottingham City Council-owned Queens Walk Community Centre in December in a final effort to raise funds and create a community hub.

However, while the cafe helped the charity cover its overheads, it did not generate enough income to pay staff salaries.

"We've been clinging on for years," Ms Gifford said. "We hoped the cafe would help sustain us, but new ventures take time to grow, and sadly we ran out of time.

"National Insurance has doubled – that's another cost we can't manage. Income is coming in, but it's not enough to sustain even one paid role."

Ms Gifford, who has lived in the Meadows for 40 years said many in the neighbourhood feel "forgotten" adding the area had "little to no local funding".

"We've fought hard to get where we are and helped other organisations grow in The Meadows," the 70-year-old said.

Senior manager at the charity Becky Liggins said she was concerned about gap the closure would leave and was worried about where residents could go for similar services.

"There isn't another organisation in The Meadows that offers what we do," she said.

"There is definitely digital poverty here - people cannot afford their internet or afford smartphones.

"So to come in here to have access to a laptop or a phone is priceless for some. I've had someone in tears because she now can't get the digital support she needs for her job applications," she added.

Ms Liggins also blamed broader financial challenges, including the bankruptcy of Nottingham City Council in 2023 and the loss of other key funding streams.

She said: "We feel massively let down by the council. The Meadows is a community full of brilliant, spirited people, but it's been largely ignored.

"Other areas have multiple support hubs. Here, this was it.

"I can only hope someone steps in to support what's left – this community deserves that."

The volunteers however remain hopeful another organisation will take over the cafe and continue some of the vital work they have started.

A spokesperson for the city council said: "Like many local authorities across the country, we are facing increasing demands on our services while having to work within tighter financial constraints.

"As a result, we are simply not in a position to provide the same level of funding support that we may have been able to in the past.

"We recognise the important work that organisations like the Bridges Community Trust do in our communities and understand the challenges they are currently facing.

"While we're unable to provide direct financial support at this time, there are alternative funding streams available through central government and other bodies which we would encourage groups to explore."

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