A Northumberland charity that provides a vital social hub to veterans and elderly people has seen its energy bills increase 'tenfold'.
Energy bills for the Ashington Veterans and Elders Institute, on Reiverdale Road, have soared from around £1,000 per year to £950 per month, forcing the committee to look at cost saving measures and new sources of funding.
Secretary Keith Green said the charity isn't at risk of closure but they have had to make some "pretty tough decisions".
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Keith said: "It has been a subject at the last two or three committee meetings, we have had to look at things from a short term and long-term point of view.
"We can't afford to keep this place heated from 8am to 11pm seven days per week so we have squeezed the heating times down to about 9.30am to 8pm but it is still extortionate.
"It has increased tenfold because we haven't been able to get a suitable contract with the energy supplier. We have been negotiating with them for the last six months.
"The treasurer has spent lots of man hours trying to get some kind of deal. We are not on a fixed deal yet so they are charging us top whack and it is frightening.
"Luckily enough we have a decent amount of cash behind us but we can't go on forever.
"We can't just keep dipping into reserves. The future is different to what it was in the past."
Keith said the institute, which has 103 members, is mainly self-funded but they are applying for grants to cover rising energy bills.
He added: "We get most of the income through table usage, through subscriptions, we run music nights, quiz nights, exhibitions, we have a gardening club that is profitable.
"But we are self-funding and we are not shy in applying for grants either. We have had grant funding in the past and there are more grant supplied who are more keen to support charities with energy bill cost.
"When in the past it was mainly for projects, so we have a couple of applications in.
"We can't rely on that. So we have had to make some pretty tough decisions.
"These tables will need to be replaced, we are not sure if the roof will last forever, so if we keep using reserves just to pay for everyday costs it will be difficult.
"We raise funds for the institute through members baking, they knit and sell things. It is not just about snooker anymore but it is not a comfortable situation to be in."
Keith said the venue will always be there but if prices continue to soar they will have to consider increasing membership fees or table usage.
He added: "It is a shame but we will still be here. Some of them come here to keep warm, literally.
"I've been here through the good times and the bad times. We have diversified in the last few years and gone from a very basic snooker operation to a proper community facility.
"The garden we have got, we have a dedicated team to look after the garden. Two years ago that was just derelict land. We got grants to develop it and we have barbecues and we have other groups come across.
"We have our eggs in more than one basket but if this place didn't have other things happening, if it was just a snooker place like three or four years ago, we couldn't afford to run it as the energy costs would have been too high."
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