Southampton Veterans Trust given six months to leave building

The Southampton Veterans Trust has an uncertain future after being told it must leave its hub in Woodley Road, Woolston.

Set up in 2018, it supports veterans and their families with issues such as mental health and well-being.

However, Solent NHS Trust, which owns the building, has given it a six-month deadline to get out.

It needs the space as a service centre for children and young people.  

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Colin Gaylor, chair of the trust, worries how the move will impact veterans.

He said: “It’s quite devastating really but we’re trying hard to stay positive.

“The NHS gave us use of the building with the understanding that it was ours until it was sold.

“We’ve always had the backing of the NHS, but now they need to expand and have their child services unit move into the building.

“We’re in negotiations with Solent NHS, but we were told we had six months to vacate the building in August.

“Then over the Christmas period we were told we had six months from then to give us a bit more time at an important period for us.

“If we move out, we have to find somewhere big enough to accommodate everything we need.

“It will likely cost a fortune and I don’t know where we’re going to get the money.

“But the most important thing is that we need to make sure the people who come are well looked after.”

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Day manager, Tracey Gaylor said: “We know this centre has saved lives.

“We now know that for definite. 

“We've had guys that have tried to end things, but with the help of our counsellors, we’ve improved people’s mental health to a point where they are now stable.

“Everyone gets something different from our centre.

“Sometimes it takes courage from someone who is ex-military to come through the door and ask for help, as they’re often taught throughout their careers that they shouldn’t ask for help because they need to be self-reliant and be doing things for themselves.”

Colin and Tracey Gaylor (Image: Daily Echo)

An ongoing issue that the centre has faced since its opening is homelessness in the veteran community.

Over the years, it has rehomed 19 ex-servicemen and women who were living on the street.

Amputee and former Lance Corporal, Paul Smith praised Colin and the trust after they helped him find a new home.

The 54-year-old previously struggled to live in a first-floor flat and had been forced to clamber up a ‘dangerous’ set of stairs with his hands.

Paul, who served in the Royal Hampshire Regiment, said: “They helped me get my place. My life is a whole much better. I am so much happier. I do hope they find somewhere. They are important for all veterans that need help.”

Without Colin’s support, he said he would probably still be ‘stuck upstairs’ in his old flat.

He added that the trust makes a massive difference to veterans’ lives, and: “I think they should get help from the Government in this situation. The Government should make things easier for people like that to get somewhere to run a business.

“All ex-forces need help at some point in time.”

Mark Young, the associate director of estates transformation at NHS Solent Trust, said: "We are continuing talks with representatives of Southampton Veterans Trust in Woolston to help them find a new venue, having given the organisation formal notice in August.

“We recognise the important role the drop-in centre plays for local veterans to access a range of support and have been very happy to provide the organisation with free accommodation on the understanding that it was a temporary arrangement.

“Unfortunately, pressures within the NHS mean this is not something we can continue to do.

"We have, however, recently offered a new licence for a further six months, temporarily relocating our staff, to give the veterans’ trust more time to find a new base, as well as linking them in with local authority and other partners to help achieve this as swiftly as possible.”

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Royston Smith, the Tory MP for Southampton Itchen, says he has been working with the NHS and trust.

He said: "The veterans club is a remarkable achievement. From its modest beginnings as the veteran's breakfast club, it has grown in size and stature and is now a much-loved and needed resource for our veterans.

"While it is traumatic and indeed challenging to have to move, we all knew the arrangement was temporary. We all stand ready to help in any and every way we can.”