Carers project refused funding

LOTTERY funding has been refused for the Young Carers Project run by West Anglia Carers. The St Ives-based group provides a meeting point for some 280 young carers in Huntingdonshire who devote large amounts of their time to looking after parents or sibli

LOTTERY funding has been refused for the Young Carers Project run by West Anglia Carers.

The St Ives-based group provides a meeting point for some 280 young carers in Huntingdonshire who devote large amounts of their time to looking after parents or siblings, or both. Until now, it has been providing activities and short breaks - often the only break that these young people get - but it is suffering from a lack of funds.

Project leader Lucy Francklin said: "The project will be massively cut down and we have lost one of our three members of staff. We will be limited on the groups we can run. We will not be able to take people swimming, fishing or to play golf, there will be no trips and no residential groups."

As reported in May, the charity exhausted its three-year Lottery funding in March and has been appealing for a benefactor to come forward. It had applied to a different part of the Lottery but learned on Monday that it had been refused.

It currently receives £21,000 a year from Cambridgeshire County Council but needs between £70,000 and £80,000 a year to run.

Ms Francklin said other grant applications had been made.

A council spokesman said they were looking to resolve the crisis and did not want to lose an essential service.