A NEW charity has been launched in York to raise £2 million to create Britain’s first respite care “hotel” for people with multiple sclerosis and similar conditions.

The Alan Bott Centre has been set up following the Multiple Sclerosis Society’s controversial decision to close its respite care centres across the UK, including Woodlands, in Hull Road, York, which was fiercely opposed by some members.

The organisers say that, although Woodlands still existed, it was now a privately run rehabilitation centre specialising in brain injury conditions. And they claim that although it was still taking MS guests for short breaks, by July next year it would no longer provide the respite/holiday service that people using the centre during the past 20 years had come to recognise.

“The Alan Bott Centre, which is registered as a charity, is named after Alan Bott, who was the driving force behind Woodlands Respite Care Centre all those years ago,” said spokeswoman Jackie Chapman.

“It aims to make York the first city in England to provide a dedicated hotel with care support, especially for those who are wheelchair bound. York is the ideal location for such a facility because of its many attractions and open areas.”

She said the project was at a very early stage, and it would take some time to raise the necessary funds, locate a suitable site, and get it built.

“But there is a will and determination to see it happen, and to start off the process,” she said.

She said Woodlands had in the region of 200 volunteers, 160 of whom had asked to be kept informed of progress in the creation of the new respite centre, and she believed many of them would support the centre.

“We are currently meeting with developers and others to explore sites and areas for a building to convert or for a new build in or near York,” she said. “The council is believed to have a number of sites and there are other organisations which are seeking to release sites.”

A charity shop is to open on April 16 in Melrosegate, where Woodlands previously had a shops. Donations can be received from Monday, April 2.