Enough is enough: Shahid demands action over Walker Welfare
10 December 2007
Dewsbury and Mirfield MP Shahid Malik has hit out over the treatment of pensioners in Thornhill describing as "scandalous" the council's failure to act over the ongoing saga of the Walker Welfare Centre.
The building, which has been home to Thornhill Senior Citizens since 1965, is owned by Kirklees and has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair resulting in the temporary closure of the facility in January on health and safety grounds.
Kirklees estimate that necessary repairs would cost up to £100,000, a figure that Mr Malik says is a small price to pay for the well being of pensioners of Thornhill.
"Our pensioners have contributed so much to society and in their retirement they deserve all the support we can give them. For many in Thornhill the Walker Welfare has been at the heart of the community for decades and I'm extremely disappointed that the council has chosen to drag their feet on this issue."
Mr Malik continued: "If they fail to respond positively then the council will be guilty of indifference towards our pensioners. Surely, some of the £15m under spend in the council budget from last year could and should have been used to repair and improve Walker Welfare Centre."
Betty Blakeley of Thornhill Senior Citizens said that she hoped something could be done: "For some of our members it's the only time they get out of the house. We're allowed to meet at Sure Start until December but after that we may be left with no option but to fold the group unless there is an outcome over the Walker Welfare. There's nowhere else for us to meet."
Mr Malik now plans to meet with the council's head of older people's services, Sally McIvor, to discuss the future for the Walker Welfare and said that he would only be happy with one outcome: "The council must put the welfare and happiness of our old folk first. The real issue here, it's about people, not money, and I won't be satified until the senior citizens are back in the Walker Welfare Centre."