Building sale will protect services, charity says

A charity that supports people who are deaf or live with hearing loss is selling its building.

West Norfolk Deaf Association (WNDA) has had a base on Railway Road, King's Lynn, since 1997.

Anna Pugh, the charity's manager, said selling the site would ensure that services including social clubs and audiology care could continue.

Some members of the deaf community said they do not feel like they have been involved in the decision.

Pugh, who has managed WNDA for six years, said the decision was very difficult to make.

"If a volunteer or a group of people raised £600 for me, I've got to decide whether I spend that on the boiler or I spend it on services for children.

"I know where I'd much rather spend it, and I'd know where their effort, they'd prefer me to be spending it so those are the compromises that we have to make."

The building, parts of which date back to 1886, has six rooms including a large meeting room and play room for children.

Pugh said they have lots of activities in the community meaning the rooms were not being used enough.

Private bookings that helped support the upkeep of the building have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, she added.

Pat and Stephen Corbin have been coming to WNDA meetings for more than a decade.

They said selling the building and finding a new space would provide an opportunity to improve accessibility.

"They must find a nice place with easy [accessibility] for disabled people [to] come with wheelchair and a toilet on ground floor," said Pat.

Some members of the deaf community feel like the decision to sell up has been taken without them.

Paul Lambert is deaf and uses British Sign Language to communicate.

He told the BBC: "It all seems to be linked to money, nothing is focused on deaf needs.

"It was the deaf people who paid for this building in the first place, it was not their [the managers] decision to make. It was our decision."

In 1997 funds were raised to buy the building by members of the deaf community and other charitable grants.

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