Plea to find Felixstowe Volunteer Coast Patrol Rescue Service a new home

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John Cresswell.John Cresswell.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
4:29 PM
A volunteer rescue service operating in Felixstowe has been hit by the news it will have to move out of its base.
The Felixstowe Volunteer Coast Patrol Rescue Service (FVCPRS) has been told it needs to clear all its specialist equipment out of the former bomb shelter in Adastral Close.
The organisation has been told the roof of the building is in imminent danger of collapse and therefore needs to find a new home.
Now FVCPRS’s chairman John Cresswell has put out an appeal for help from the public to secure the groups future.



Mr Cresswell said: “We have been instructed to remove our vast array of valuable and specialised equipment as soon as possible from the site.
“The main problem is that we have no available funding to rent an alternative storage facility and unless a solution can be found we will be out on the streets.
“We know this is a very big ask but ideally we are looking for a large, dry and secure storage area for our two boats, four trailers and a 40ft shipping container to house our most vulnerable equipment.
“Ideally it must be as near to Felixstowe as possible as it will house the resort’s flood emergency rescue equipment and be available 24/7 for emergencies.”
Mr Cresswell said the organisation has never had a “core sponsor” in its 19 years of existence and has therefore led a nomadic existence.
He added FVCPRS had relied heavily on the generosity of other organisations to give it a home in that time.
The registered charity previously shared a building with the Port of Felixstowe’s fire and rescue department, occupied the old coastguard garages at Martello Tower and been given a home with the greenkeeper for Felixstowe Tennis Club.
Mr Cresswell said: “Not being in the financial position to rent suitable accommodation it is unlikely that we will find another site.
“This may lead to this award-winning charitable organisation being disbanded unless help can be found.
“We will have no alternative than to deposit all our hard-won equipment on the nearest public car park to then be exposed to weather damage and who knows what else.”

Anyone who can offer assistance shouldcontact the charity at fvcprs@gmail.com



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