PLANS to close the only council-funded service supporting those living with alcohol addiction have been described as “extremely disappointing”.

Hannah House in Princess Road is under threat of closure, with the land earmarked for new houses.

According to an email seen by the Daily Echo, leader of the council John Beesley, said the home’s managing company – Bournemouth Churches Housing Association – was advised about the decision three weeks ago.

In it, he said: “We are progressing plans to redevelop this whole site to build new properties which are fit for purpose, make better use of the land and continue to help meet our strategic housing needs.

“Some of the resulting buildings are expected to become homes to house homeless individuals.

“As we move towards this, some of the properties are being emptied because obviously we cannot justify investing further sums of money on the maintenance of these properties when we expect to demolish them soon.”

The council faces cuts of £7.7 million next year, he added.

“With a total net budget of around £135 million and pressures of over £7.8 million next year in Adult Social Care services alone, the council will have to work even harder to protect services for all of Bournemouth’s most vulnerable residents, especially given that Adult Social Care is now 38 per cent of the council’s net spend,” Cllr Beesley added.

“I can assure you that the decision to terminate this contract was not taken lightly. It is important to note that we are retaining a number of other homeless supported housing schemes such as YMCA and St Paul’s Lane.”

Martin Hancock, CEO of BCHA, said: “BCHA remains committed to supporting the most vulnerable people within our community and delivering services that support community cohesion and empower individuals to make positive life choices.

“We are extremely disappointed that Hannah House is at risk of closure as it is the only local authority funded service of its kind in Bournemouth and has successfully supported individuals to significantly reduce their alcohol consumption or completely abstain from alcohol use.

“Thanks to a very committed and skilled staff team at the project there has also been considerable success with helping people move onto more independent living.

“Whilst we are at the early stages of discussions with the current funders, we are concerned that any initial savings identified to the local authority’s budget will result in increased expenditure elsewhere and significant pressure on other budgets, such as health, hospital and social care, as well as on voluntary services.”