A campaigner has given a cautious welcome to a local council’s pledge to preserve threatened services for disabled adults.
Anita Woolf began her battle three years ago after Flightways, the Barnet Centre for Independent Living, was slated for demolition in the regeneration of the Grahame Park estate in north London.
Mrs Woolf, whose son Karl attends the centre, lobbied Barnet Council for a new home for its 30 users. Now the council has said that it will be relocated to another building in the area.
Mrs Woolf said: “We were told that the council wanted to take users out into the community on trips like bowling instead of providing a base for classes and activities. But what they don’t get is the centre has become a place where adults with disabilities can learn to develop and nurture friendships.”
Mrs Woolf, who last month was named as a JC Mensch of the Year, and her husband Emile set up the Maxibility charity to raise more than £4,000 every year to fund classes at the centre.
She said: “It is all ifs and maybes at the moment. I do feel a little more hopeful, but if I were to stop the pressure, they could easily go back on their promise.”
Karl Woolf, who was born deaf and physically disabled, said: “If we didn’t have a centre, I don’t know where we would go. I hope Barnet keep their promise to us.”
