Storm-hit counselling centre reopens after lengthy closure

A Blackpool mental health charity has reopened its South Shore hub almost a year after massive storm damage left it uninhabitable.

Counselling In The Community’s (CITC) Waterloo Road base was reopened this afternoon by Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South, alongside CEO and Founder Stuart Hutton-Brown.

The hub was forced to close last October after storms caused extensive damage throughout the building, with water ingress badly damaging ceilings, walls and floors on both floors and leaving more than 100 people a week at risk of losing access to their therapy sessions.

Its reopening has been made possible by funding from the government’s £1.5m Pride in Place Impact Fund, secured by Chris Webb MP and allocated by Blackpool Council.

Around £40,000 of those funds has gone towards the repair works, while a further £100,000 has been put up to allow the council to purchase the building outright – securing its future as a community-owned asset.

The refurbishment has also added two extra counselling suites and improved accessibility throughout, alongside the hub’s existing sensory room.

CITC runs three bases across South Shore, Bispham and Cleveleys, offering affordable counselling from BACP-registered professionals to children, adults and families every week, with sessions starting from £5.

Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South, said: “It was an absolute honour to reopen Counselling in the Community on Waterloo Road and to see the full transformation counselling hub after the storm damage. Jon and his team from JD builders have done an amazing job.

“This is a huge asset for the community here in South Shore, which is exactly why I was pleased to agree with the council that this refurbishment should be funded through the Pride in Place Impact Fund I secured in Parliament.

“That fund exists to support organisations like Counselling in the Community, that do such important work, and to put pride back into our town.”

Stuart Hutton-Brown, CEO and Founder of CITC, said: “Both floors of the building was totally gutted after the storm – it was an absolute wreck and it was absolutely heartbreaking. We see around 120 people a week come through this building.

“The transformation we’re looking at now is unbelievable, and without Jon and his team turning this building into an amazing community space with 14 rooms, I don’t know where we’d be. I’m so grateful to him, to Chris Webb and the council for getting us back on our feet so that we can once again support the South Shore community.”

Jon Nichol, of JD Builders, who completed the renovations said: “It was a major disaster area when the flood happened – it devastated the building from top to bottom.

“This is such an important community programme that Counselling in the Community runs here. We brought in a local architect, sat down with Stuart and the team, and came up with the best use of the space we had, which we then built and put back. I hope it serves the community for years to come.”