Community clubs across Dorset and New Forest set to close

Dozens of community clubs across Dorset that provide older people with socialisation, community and wellbeing face closure in the near future.

For years, the Brendoncare Foundation has run clubs offering activities including kurling, fitness sessions, film screenings and quizzes for older people living in locations such as Ferndown, Wimborne, Blandford, Moordown, Bearwood, Westbourne and Ringwood, and across the UK.

But in February, the charity announced that, due to financial challenges, it will no longer be able to operate these popular, well-attended clubs. As a result, all clubs in Dorset and the New Forest, alongside some clubs in Hampshire, face closure. Brendoncare was unable to confirm which clubs will close or when.

Sarah Elliott has volunteered with the charity for eight years and helps run four clubs in Ferndown, including a seated exercise class, which are attended by over 40 members. She described the decision as “terrible”.

“We are so concerned for our groups,” Elliott said. “A lot of our members are widows or may have family who don’t live locally. This is a place where they can come and make friendships and connections.

“We’re hoping we can find someone who can come in and help us, because it’s needed in Ferndown.

Elliott’s daughter, Amy, first volunteered with Brendoncare when she was just nine years old, helping her grandparents when they ran a club. Now 21, she is concerned what impact the loss of the clubs will have on her family.

She said: “My grandfather suffers from anxiety, and these clubs are his lifeline. Without them, I fear he will become lost in isolation, stripped of his purpose and identity.

“For my grandad, these gatherings are more than a social outing, they are his anchor. They give him structure, something to look forward to, and a reason to get up and leave the house.”