Fight to save adult numeracy training

CAMPAIGNERS are fighting to save an Edinburgh service that has helped thousands of adult learners get to grips with numbers.

The Number Shop in the Pleasance is one of six community centres scheduled for closure by the city council in a bid to save 120,000 a year.

City bosses say the centre's services will be made available elsewhere, but protesters say the centre is irreplaceable because of its specialist teaching equipment, easy disabled access and supportive atmosphere.

Around 100 people use the centre for numeracy training, ranging from those with learning difficulties to professionals wanting to brush up on the basics they struggled with at school.

The centre, which has been open for 25 years, employs the equivalent of 2.6 staff and also has a bank of 28 volunteer tutors.

The Friends of The Number Shop campaign group was set up last year. It gave a deputation to last week's education committee pleading for a reprieve.

The group says that if classes are held elsewhere there will be no savings on staff costs, so the closure would only bring an annual saving of 11,000 – the cost of the lease on the building.

Volunteer tutor and member of the Friends Kathy Bisset said that moving the lessons to other centres around the city would be an inadequate replacement for The Number Shop: "It is a central location that can be enjoyed by anyone in the city, whereas most of the community centres deal with their requirements locally."

Southside/Newington councillor Cameron Rose, who has backed the campaign, said the closure would see the end of a thriving educational community: "To provide the service from areas around the city may well cost more and would probably not deliver such a good service – it's a very successful operation."

The other centres scheduled for closure are Sighthill, Longstone and Colinton Mains community centres, Gorgie Memorial Hall and Platform Adult Learning Centre in Wester Hailes.

A council spokeswoman said: "The proposals are currently out for public consultation and nothing will be finalised until 10 May. Despite budget pressures, we have been working hard to maintain a community learning and development service – we are committed to a high-quality service. New arrangements will reduce costs but the quality of service will not be affected. Users of The Number Shop will still be able to access quality services nearby."

Counting on The Number Shop

NICKI Slater, 45, from Blackford, decided to take classes at The Number Shop a year ago, after setting up her own business running arts and crafts workshops.

She struggled with maths at school, scraping an O-Grade at the third attempt, and quickly forgot all she had learned.

She said: "I started my own business and found that I was relying too much on other people to help me out on things like VAT."

She said she was "absolutely gutted" that The Number Shop had been threatened with closure.

She is particularly concerned that moving classes to different centres would mean the loss of specialist equipment and the centre's supportive atmosphere.