THE Duckworth Worcestershire Trust is to pull out of the popular Pump House Environment Centre in Gheluvelt Park, Worcester.
The Duckworth Worcestershire Trust is an environmental charity established by Cecil Duckworth some 25 years ago and over that period it has notched up some notable successes.
These include working with volunteers to remove litter and graffiti, creating community gardens and play areas, running a resource exchange to reduce waste going to landfills, and much more.
The endowment left by Mr Duckworth to continue the work of the DWT is coming to an end and last year the Trust had to close the Worcestershire Resource Exchange, mainly due to cost pressures.
Since 2001, it has been based in the Pump House Environment Centre, leasing the building on a peppercorn rent from Worcester City Council. However, despite running a popular café, they have been unable to cover the costs of being in the building.
Over the past two years trustees say they have been looking at alternatives to how they run the café and building, but have been unable to find a solution.
Consequently, the trustees have concluded that the best opportunity for the trust to survive and continue doing good work in the city is to vacate the Pump House.
They hope to continue running the café and holding events and supporting volunteers for as long as possible but expect to leave the building by the end of the year.
Beatrice Duckworth, widow of Cecil, said: “The lease for the Pump House is up for renewal and Cecil’s endowment has also come to an end and it is with great regret that we, the trustees, feel we should leave the Pump House.
“We would like to thank all our staff and all our volunteers for all their help and support.
“We could not have achieved what we have without you.”
Cecil Duckworth was the man behind Worcester Bosch, a CBE and a proud champion of Worcester. He died in 2020.
