'We're a Preston charity - so why won't the council rent us a building?'
A Preston charity says it is struggling to deliver some of its core services after being left in limbo over an attempt to rent office space from the city council – for three years.
Haven of Rest, Preston previously occupied a unit within the authority’s Oakham Court complex in Avenham.
The Christian-based organisation moved out of its own accord in 2017 after struggling to pay the rent. However, five years later – and with improved finances thanks to a bolstered membership – it was in a position to take on new premises.
The search for somewhere suitable was short-lived after the group discovered their former home was still vacant – and seemingly had been ever since they moved out, with the windows still bearing their old stickers.
Tosin Adesina, one of the charity’s organisers, told the Lancashire Post enquiries were initially made with Preston City Council during the summer of 2022.
“We contacted [them] and said we wanted to go back in there – and they said that [was] fine. They drafted a contract for us, but then decided to repair the bathroom and do some [other] little repairs.
“We were hoping [that in] two or three months, we’d be in – but that never happened.
“When we [first] contacted them, they wanted to see a bank statement to be sure that we could afford it – and they [were satisfied that we could].
“We keep emailing them – but it’s very confusing why it’s lingered on. We’re starting to wonder – is it because [we are] a Christian charity and a Black minority-run charity?” Tosin asked.
Haven of Rest holds weekly church services from a room in Cotton Court, but says it needs a base from which it can also co-ordinate its community work.
“We cannot run all of our programmes, like our [initiatives to help] feed people. We’ve got aims and objectives that we cannot really achieve if we don’t have a place to operate from.
“We can’t do anything – we are literally stuck.
“There would also be benefits to the council, because we were going to be paying nearly £20,000 a year [in rent]. So over three years, that’s £60,000 of revenue not [received by them],” Tosin added.
He said some progress seemed to be made when the charity enlisted the help of their MP around six months ago – but after initially appearing to prompt a flurry of contact from the council, all has once again gone quiet.
A spokesperson for Preston City Council said: “We cannot comment on individual cases, but the council remains committed to working with our voluntary and charity sectors and endeavours to assist and help our community organisations where it can.”