Shopmobility Sheffield closes down leaving people with restricted mobility struggling
Volunteer-led service Shopmobility Sheffield has closed down, leaving many local residents feeling upset and disappointed.
Having been running for over twenty years, Shopmobility Sheffield provided a wheelchair and mobility scooter loan service to disabled people.
However, according to the Star, the service ‘suddenly’ closed last week, leaving many people who depended on the service stranded.
Angela Bingham, a reader of the Star, told the newspaper: “This is such a shame, my grandad was a regular customer and it helped him to be independent.
“We should be helping our older people who have paid into the system for years and also people who need help with their mobility to be able to socialise and shop independently.
“My heart sank when I saw it had closed.”
At the time of closure, Shopmobility Sheffield reported that it had 10 thousand registered users.
A volunteer at the Shopmobility store added: “We’ve tried to keep our heads above water since losing the council funding, but it got to the point where we could no longer afford to keep going.”
Sheffield City Council announced last year that it was ending Shopmobility’s £14,000 a year grant after the charity lost out to private firm Clark and Partners in its bid for a new tender.
Clark and Partners launched a similar service, Mobile Sheffield, funded by the Council and Sheffield Business Improvement District (BID), which continues to operate.
The news follows another recent Shopmobility closure in Greater Manchester – Wigan Borough Shopmobility, citing a decrease in sales and inflation costs as reasons for the closure.
