Hi everyone,
Great news! We have reached 501 signatures!
I'm not sure what lies ahead, but I am grateful to each and every one of you for your support.
As some of you may have seen, following Kirklees' Council's budget cuts, the Government has granted them "levelling up" funds. It may be that due to these cuts, Kirklees is in a better financial position now. It seems like a barbaric hoop to make Councils jump through to survive, but these are the times we live in. I will be following up with the Councillors who have been in touch with me, to see if the new funding gives us any further wiggle room.
I know the support for the HUDAWI centre is ongoing, and they are raising money to support their bid to keep their building, so it looks like while our respective buildings will close, this might not be the end of the story. There are also campaigns in place to support the Mirfield library among others, with concern from Mirfield councillors about the number of cuts in their patch. Friends tell me that the Dewsbury site for CLEAR has also been withdrawn by the Council, but that some of their valuable work will continue at Connect Housing (in the building opposite what was CLEAR), so other parts of our community are being hit.
Keep your chin up, whatever you are facing. We will get through this together.
Lizzie Walker (eawalker43@hotmail.com)