A WOMEN’S charity has launched a bid to raise £325,000 to buy its Christchurch centre after it was put up for sale by Dorset County Council.

The Water Lily Project has been based at the Baileys Cafe building in Barrack Road since 2014 when it took over the running of the building from mental health charity Richmond Fellowship which provided services for the county council until the end of March.

Last month, the county council’s cabinet agreed that it no longer needed the building and agreed to start the process of selling it but also granted the charity permission to continue using the centre.

As it has been listed as an asset of community value by Christchurch council, community groups have until the end of the year to put forward bids to buy the facility.

Liz Carter, project manager at The Water Lily Project, said that the building was “vital” to its work in supporting vulnerable women.

“The building is a great place and opportunity for us to provide really great support and services to women who need it.

“We have been in discussions with other organisations about the possibility of partnering together but are still working to raise the £325,000 we need by the end of the year.”

The charity works with dozens of women facing a range of issues from domestic abuse to post-natal depression and also runs a host of events in the cafe.

It has recently been awarded a £10,000 grant with the aim of offering more sessions, including art therapy later this year.

“We have got a lot of plans for developing the building and moving forward with enhancing what we can offer to our women,” Liz added.

“However, it is a whole lot of money for us to raise and we are exploring ways, from grants and sharing with other community groups, to be able to fund its purchase.

“Having the building and private spaces for people to come is so important to us.

“The sort of issues we deal with and discuss are very sensitive and we need to have somewhere suitable to deal with them, and this building gives us this.”

The charity has until December 28 to come up with the funds to purchase the building from Dorset County Council before it is put up for sale on the open market.

The decision was made as part of the council’s asset management plan which looks at the viability of council facilities.