Shock for Shanklin community hub

A Shanklin Community hub is to close, with Scallywags Fun Club, Shanklin Foodbank, the local Men in Sheds, and Workskills, being given three months to vacate the premises.

The YMCA, Winchester House, owned by the YMCA Fairthorne Group, is closing on September 14, with the group saying the decision follows a sustained decline in demand for residential visits to the site in recent years, making the continued operation of the service unviable.

Phillipa Spicer, Chief Executive of YMCA Fairthorne Group, said: “Winchester House has welcomed thousands of children and young people over the years, creating memories that last a lifetime. We are deeply grateful to all the schools, youth organisations, and many local community groups who have supported the site and trusted us to provide valuable learning experiences.

“We fully appreciate the impact this news will have on our local communities, and we have explored every possible option to avoid this outcome.

“However, as a charity, we must remain focused on our core aims, including supporting young people at risk of homelessness through the provision of housing and other vital services.

“We are also sincerely grateful for the support and understanding shown by many of our groups during this time — both for our staff and for the wider work of the charity.

“YMCA Fairthorne Group will work closely with its existing customers during this time of transition.”

The group confirmed that its housing and support services would stay open. It is also thought a mother and baby unit would remain.

Scallywags has been going for 29 years, and owner, Sarah Wherry, said: “We moved here two-and-a-half years ago and thought we had found our forever home. But the owners have their own reasons for no longer being open for everyone.

“We have to find somewhere else, otherwise we’re closing. It was ideal for us because we had our own room which we could lock up, so it’s going to be hard to find something similar.”

Steve Print, secretary of Shanklin Men in Sheds, added: “We have a list of places where we might be able to relocate but we’re not going to get anything better than where we are already.

“We have been there around five years and have 25 members. We often do work in the YMCA itself helping with plaster boarding and painting as well as doing jobs involving woodwork, which is what we specialise in.

“We’re not a charity but a private members’ club, so we run off subscriptions which means we don’t have much money available.”