A charity helping Nottingham's 'most vulnerable people' will have to leave its building in just seven days. Joginder Singh, a co-founder of the charity located in Hyson Green, said he was "gutted" to learn Nottingham City Council's decision following a row over the running costs of the building.
The charity leader and three other co-founders of Karam Yog - known as the Nottingham Teaching College - have paid out of their own pockets for the £5,250 annual rent at the Hyson Green Community Centre in Gregory Boulevard. Mr Singh has previously shared his frustration after being asked to cover the running costs of the whole building - which the City Council said would be estimated at £60,000.
Following a discussion between the two parties, the city council had agreed to extend the lease until June on the basis that Mr Singh will pay more than £8,500 per quarter of a year - starting in April and ending in June, at the end of the academic year. This would have allowed students at the charity to finish their courses and pass their exams.
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But mnw, the charity will have to leave the precinct by Friday, April 21. Mr Singh, who has spent a 'lifetime' at the helm, said: "We have 268 students who are due to have their exams this year. They are going to fail.
"It is very distressing. It has affected my health - I am unable to sleep at night.
"My psychiatrist said it is not worth it. We just want a reasonable adjustment - but they are doing the exact opposite."
Mr Singh argued his charity is only using 10 percent of Hyson Green Community Centre, and would not be able to pay for the running costs of the whole building. He also claimed that his idea of switching the boiler off to save them money was turned down by the council because that "may result in burst pipes".
"They basically said 'we are going to keep the heating on, but you will have to pay for that'", Mr Singh added. "These are thick walls, they are not going to burst. And if they do, it is not the end of the world."
He also raised concerns over their "limited resources" to take all their teaching materials and items out of the building in a "short amount of time". "It is just impossible", he added.
Mr Singh also claimed "it is a blatant injustice. I am gutted.
"It puts a lot of pressure on us. The bigger loser will be our clients, and the people of Nottingham and its surroundings.
"It puts pressure on the most vulnerable people in the city that we help here. All my life I have been helping people. We are contributing to this society with everything we do, and I am thinking about all of these people who are going to suffer once we are gone.
"The charity as an entity will not go away. We will move online, however, it is going to be very difficult for our clients to drop in like they used to."
Peter Folkes-Mill, a deputy principal and also a volunteer at the charity, added: "We do not have any funding to go anywhere else. On Saturdays, we also have women who suffered domestic violence coming here. We help vulnerable people in Nottingham and we do not know what is going to happen now."
Suhail Hashuri, also a volunteer at the charity, said: "I am just very worried for them. The work that this charity does is an investment in the future and contribution to community."
A City Council spokesperson said: “We have told Nottingham Teaching College we will extend their tenancy with no rental payment until the end of June to allow the term to finish. However, the council cannot take on additional costs during this period and we have offered to allow them to spread running costs of the building over the next three months.
“If they are unable to meet these costs, we have said we will unfortunately have no alternative but to end their tenancy next Friday. We are continuing discussions with other groups who could take on responsibility for running the building and provide community activities.”
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