News 'We owe it to ourselves to carry on this fight...'
The future of the Holland House Action Group looks brighter this week as members of the committee voted on Tuesday in favour of seeking continued legal support in the lead-up to the public inquiry at The Vikings Hotel in Goole on March 27.
In his first meeting as chairman, Keith Moore offered his sincere thanks to the outgoing officers - chairman Roger Smith, secretary Glenys Aykroyd and treasurer Jane Smith - before assuring the 20 people gathered that HHAG will continue to be run "with leadership and direction following the strategies set out by the committee."
He was also quick to quash reports that funding had been withdrawn from the legal team, declaring that the decision had been one based on a lack of funds and had been taken by the whole committee in accordance with the HHAG constitution, which states that money shall not be committed unless it is available to be spent.
Mr Moore went on to explain that the original decision had been based on a projected legal bill of between £35,000 and £40,000, but given that this had now been reduced to £20,000, the matter could be discussed again with the view to reducing the cost further and raising the remaining funds to top up the £6,000 already in the action group's coffers.
It was decided by a vote of 11 to two to push for a further reduction of the legal costs needed to fund the fight, with committee members taking on some of the workload and the removal of a witness, which could save £3,000 alone.
It was proposed that payment could be made on a stage-by-stage basis, allowing the HHAG to withdraw at any time should they not be able to meet the costs.
The inquiry will hear PD Services appeal against the East Riding of Yorkshire Council's refusal to remove planning condition two, which states that Holland House may be used only as a nursing home.
"We have nothing to lose by trying to raise this money. We owe it to ourselves more than anybody else to carry on this fight and I remain more convinced than ever that we have victory in our sights," said Mr Moore.
Concerns were raised that PD Services and Partnerships in Care were using continuing appeals to try and outspend the action group, but ex-chairman Roger Smith said: "If we want it, it's there. PD Services are at the end of their tether. They have put hurdle after hurdle in front of us, but I think they might be running out of hurdles."
The meeting also saw new secretary Peter Finch confirm that he would continue in the position, despite earlier fears that the continuation of the HHAG as an action group could see him resigning from the role after just a week.
Mr Finch will be available for all meetings in Goole but acknowledged that some help would be required for meetings outside the area.
Mr Moore said: "I'm hoping that we will know more about the costs by our next meeting so that the committee can make a decision as to whether or not the legal costs are achievable."
The next meeting of the the Holland House Action Group is at The Charter Club on Pasture Road in Goole on Wednesday, December 13 at 7.30pm.
Published on 30th November 2006 in News.
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