Coronavirus: Henshaws arts and crafts closed for 'foreseeable future'

Henshaws Arts and Crafts Centre will remain closed "for the foreseeable future"

An arts and crafts centre for people with disabilities and special educational needs is to remain closed "for the foreseeable future" due to the pandemic.

Henshaws Arts and Crafts Centre in Knaresbrough is used by 160 people and has about 50 staff.

But it said Covid-19 safety measures would create "significant issues".

North Yorkshire County Council said it was "disappointed" and many families who used the services would be worried.

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The charity, which is based in Manchester but has sites in North Yorkshire, said Covid-19 measures "including social distancing pose significant issues...as we cannot sustain the centre without the full capacity of art maker (service user) income that underpins it".

"That means we cannot reopen the centre for the foreseeable future," it added.

"Closing the centre wasn't a decision we wanted to make and it is not permanent."

The charity also said it was moving away from providing supported living housing for people with disabilities and special needs in Harrogate.

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Chief executive Nick Marr said: "Henshaws Home Support service was on a knife edge financially and the pressure on local authorities funding these and other places has increased.

"We are not able to sustain these services so we intend to transition out of providing them, at the latest, in October, to ensure the best continuity can be arranged for the service users."

Richard Webb, the county council's director of health and adult services, said: "We were surprised and disappointed to hear this news.

"We will work with the charity and with people who use the centre, and their families, to see what might be possible in the future."

The county council said it had also written to affected families about the charity's withdrawal from providing supported living and would aim to find "a sustainable solution".

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