"When my children were in their last year of primary school they both went to the Jam Butty Camp" recalls Rose Wedge "They're now in their late twenties but I remember that they both came back having had an absolutely wonderful time. It was their first experience of going away with other kids on their own. And for a lot of kids it was the only holiday they got, or their first holiday by the seaside.
"Even today there's still kids in Salford who never get a holiday, who have never seen the seaside" she adds "It used to be that every kid in Salford got that one chance to have a holiday and they are taking that away from a lot of kids now. That's why I'm supporting the campaign to keep it open."
Anyone who had any experience of the Salford Children's Holiday Camp, or the Jam Butty Camp as it's affectionately known, was horrified to learn recently that Salford Council was to cut its full £50,000 funding of the complex. Which is almost two thirds of the Camp's entire income.
While the Camp is run by a charity and its trustees as a separate entity from the Council, the ties are close, in that it's run by Salford Community Leisure with the Civic Centre as its formal address and the Council as its formal email address. Councillor Bernard Pennington is also a Trustee of the Camp.
Indeed, the 38 Degrees online petition* - currently with over 1,500 signatures against the closure - is directed at Salford City Mayor, Ian Stewart, and Salford City Council…
"Your cuts to this service have now forced its closure" it reads "something that we find totally unacceptable."
In answers to a question at last month's full Council meeting, John Merry Assistant Mayor for Children and Young People, affirmed that "the Council is not responsible for the Camp…we give it a donation of £50,000", and asked for evidence from the Save The Jam Butty Camp campaign group that it could be kept open.
Meanwhile, trustee, Councillor Bernard Pennington, stood up and argued that the Camp wasn't attracting enough children, that it needed expensive asbestos removal work doing and that he "couldn't see any way we could raise in excess of £50,000". All of which was greeted with derision by campaigners in the public gallery, who disputed the attendance figures and his `fact' that £50,000 couldn't be raised.
"I have asked them [the campaigners] to provide me with a written proposal and then we will discuss it with Council officers" Pennington added "At this point in time we have reached a hiatus and the Camp is closed."
Outside the Council meeting, Nick Abbott, who has spearheaded the campaign to save the Camp, was scornful of the gaggle of Assistant Mayors, Mayor and councillors inside…
"This is the first time I've attended a Council meeting and it's quite sad that they are letting the people of this city down" he said "Looking at pictures of Mayors from the past that are on the walls, I know how much they raised for the Camp, our current Mayor has raised nothing.
"We've got sixty councillors, a Mayor, twelve assistants etc, and not one of them has made any sense to me this morning, other than talking about establishing links with NASA and the European Space Agency to help the kids of Salford" he added "Work that one out!"
Nick was also scornful of the claim that `£50,000 couldn't be raised'…
"When I heard that they were cutting the funding to the Camp and got calls asking me to help raise money, within a week we'd set up a Facebook campaign and a Just Giving page, and we'd done more to raise awareness of the Camp than the Camp itself or the Council has ever done" he explained "Before that, if you wanted to donate money to the Camp you couldn't; there was no mechanism, it was quite frankly embarrassing."
Having got the social media campaign in motion, Nick said that donations or pledges to carry out the needed refurbishment work hit £25,000 within two days. And he reeled off a whole list of the best known social organisations and companies in the city which had offered to help, including City West Housing Trust, Salford Reds Foundation and the Salford Foundation, of which he is a board member.
Since the Council meeting other companies in Salford have pledged thousands of pounds towards saving the Camp and there have been loads of fundraising events including by children and staff at Primrose Hill School…
"The Trustees need to take note that the children want to save their camp" wrote Marie Hassall on the campaign Facebook page "If they are doing everything they can, why aren't you?"
There's also a Jam Butty Camp Fundraiser on 3rd May at the Welcome Inn in Ordsall with free kids' entertainment all day and an adult event at night.
Meanwhile, the business plan that Salford Council asked for was handed in by the campaign almost a month ago with no response to a request for a meeting. Now, the Save The Jam Butty Camp campaigners are so incensed about Salford Council's attitude, they are talking about standing candidates at the local elections to try to oust non-listening councillors.
All of which is very strange. Salford Council has cut £50,000 of funding to the Camp. The campaign says it has raised more than enough funds for the Camp to stay open – and is still urging people to donate**. Yet the Camp remains closed. What is going on?
Outside the Council meeting, Nick was insistent that it was all about the sale of the land in Prestatyn on which the Salford Children's Holiday Camp stands…
"I spoke to a Council officer who said attendance at the Camp is falling and `We have had an offer in writing'" he explained "I said `Surely there must be a covenant on the land for the children?' and she said `We can't find the deeds'.
"In their accounts it only values the land at £500,000 – for eight acres of prime residential land!...What do I think is behind the cut? The sale of the land" he concluded….
Jam Butty Camp Fundraiser
Saturday 3rd May
Welcome Inn, Robert Hall St, Ordsall
1-6pm Free 7pm £2
Tickets available from the pub in advance.
* To sign the online petition - click here
**To donate Text the word SJBC50 £1 to 70070
**See also the Save The Jam Butty Camp Just Giving website – click here
Follow the campaign on Twitter @JamButtyCamp
On Facebook: Save The Jam Butty Camp – click here