THE news that the Furniture Recycling Centre in Pimhole, Bury, may close down because of lack of funding fills me with sadness and anger.

For the past three years this wonderful organisation has provided an essential service to well over 1,200 families living on benefits or low income who could not afford even the minimum of household items, such as a baby cot, a bed, tables and chairs. Without this vital service provided by the furniture centre and its highly dedicated team of workers how many of these vulnerable families would still be on the council housing waiting list or, worse still, homeless?

While it would appear that the £250,000 of National Lottery money obtained towards this project by CVS ex-director Chris Langhorn has run out, I can hardly believe that there does not seem to have been any plans made during those three years to ensure that new funding was applied for, or that the project had a business plan to make it sustainable beyond the three years of funding.

However, if that really is the case, then quite clearly members of the Council for Voluntary Service board should be asked some searching questions by the cabinet member responsible for social inclusion, Sylvia Mason, and existing CVS director, be called to account.

It is my understanding that £27,000 of the Lottery money has gone towards the rental of the large storage unit, which is owned by the council, since it opened three years ago. This means that, for the past three years, the council has actually made £9,000 profit each year out of the community project!

The only decent thing for our council cabinet members to do within the next few weeks is to agree to reimburse the furniture centre with the £27,000 rent as the council's own matching fund contribution towards the project, and to let project workers use the same premises rent-free for a minimum of six months -- or better still, for good.

This will give project manager Alan Owen and his two colleagues the breathing space they need to set themselves up as a not-for-profit limited company and a registered charity, and pursue to new sources of funding. It will also give them time to seek assistance from Lancashire Enterprise Board co-operative development advisers and any local business adviser on how to turn this highly successful charitable service into a sustainable and thriving not-for-profit community business.

If, having made £27,000 out of their funding, Bury councillors and their cabinet members allow Bury's Furniture Recycling Project to close, I think there will be a public outcry.

If readers wish to find out more about the project and want to offer support to the campaign to stop its closure, call Bury Community Enterprise on 0161 705 1560. With your support, and our own limited resources, we can organise the necessary lobbying of councillors, and organise a petition and a public meeting before the end of March.

NICOLE IVANOFF, secretary,

Bury Community Enterprise Ltd.