CoastNet's Villa Crossmedia project
CoastNet is in talks with other organisations about transferring some of its projects
A charity working with coastal communities has gone into administration after struggling to secure funding.
Essex-based CoastNet was founded in 1996 and undertook education and community projects in deprived coastal areas. Recent projects included Villa Crossmedia, a new-media project in Plymouth for young people in the city and surrounding area, and Lost at Sea, an initiative to encourage young people in port areas to learn more about seafaring traditions.
CoastNet’s most recent set of published accounts show it had an income of £426,107 and spent £422,182 in 2011.
Lee De’ath, a partner at Chantrey Vellacott DFK, which has been appointed as administrators, said: "Due to insufficient funding, some of the projects are now unfortunately unable to go ahead, although we are in talks with more than one organisation with the objective of transferring some of the ongoing projects."
All of the charity’s eight staff have been made redundant, but De’ath said he hoped that some would find work with organisations that take over CoastNet’s projects. "We are currently in the process of carrying out a full review of CoastNet’s assets and hope to be able to reach a resolution whereby some of the work started by the charity can continue," he said.
John Lant, chairman of CoastNet, said: "We are very sad to see the charity being forced to take this difficult decision, but the trustees acted decisively and responsibly once the scale of the financial challenges facing CoastNet were identified."
