Newport Eco Centre to close (From Tivyside Advertiser)

Newport Eco Centre to close

3:07pm Wednesday 13th March 2013 in News

Newport’s Eco Centre is due to close at the end of this month, with seven staff made redundant, due to a lack of essential funding..

For the past 33 years the West Wales Eco Centre has blazed a trail in the field of fuel poverty, sustainable energy advice, climate change and environmental education.

It has pioneered things now considered mainstream, such as insulation schemes, energy advice, energy shows, recycling schemes, school projects, and training days.

The Newport branch employs a mixture of seven full and part time staff, all of whom have lost their jobs.
The centre’s trustees said it was hoped that some aspects of centre’s work could be retained by former staff under a different operating arrangement.
Director Jake Hollyfield, who will remain in post until mid April, said: “The fact that we can’t square the funding circle means we have to make staff redundant. We are dramatically restructuring the organisation to the point where it costs nothing to run.
“It’s an enormous regret for me that we have had to dismantle in this way and all our expertise is being dispersed. It is the loss of an asset for the county.”
He added that he hoped the centre would be able to hang onto a vestige of its infrastructure so that projects could still run if funding was found in the future."
The trustees said that it was possible that the centre was “a victim of its own success” as it was now operating in a crowded marketplace with a wide range of energy groups vying for the same funding.
“The Eco Centre, along with many other charities, has marshalled its resources and reviewed its activities in the light of the changing funding and operating landscape,” they said.
“Despite the very best efforts of all the staff involved, it has not been possible to overcome the shortfall in funds required to support the organisation to deliver its projects and programmes at a level of quality that is demanded.”
It is understood that the first wave of redundancies took place last Friday and the centre will close its doors on March 31st.