Newhaven, Lewes and District Mencap has launched an appeal for an accessible minibus. The charity runs on £34,576 a year, three trustees and five volunteers.

Newhaven, Lewes and District Mencap has launched an appeal for an accessible minibus, so that its members can get out of Riverside Hall and into the rest of the district.

The charity announced the appeal on 28 August. It supports adults with learning disabilities across Newhaven, Seaford, Peacehaven and Lewes, and it has been doing so since January 1965.

Its case is a practical one, and it is about geography as much as money. Almost everything the charity runs happens in one building.

What the charity says it needs

From its own announcement:

“Rather than being confined to activities taking place at Riverside Hall, a minibus would help us take Newhaven Mencap out into the wider community.”

The charity says arranging transport is currently “a significant challenge”, and that some members miss out on activities as a result. It lists what a vehicle would let it do:

  • attend community events and activities
  • organise day trips and outings
  • visit attractions and places of interest
  • give members more opportunities to socialise
  • support greater independence and inclusion
  • reduce the barriers created by transport

For some members, it says, getting into a car or catching public transport “can be much more difficult” than it is for most people. A dedicated vehicle would be “a safe, reliable and familiar way for our members to travel together”.

The numbers, from the public record

The scale of the ask is easier to judge against the charity’s accounts, which are on the Charity Commission register.

Newhaven, Lewes and District Mencap is charity number 270064. For the financial year ending 30 September 2025 it reported:
Total income £34,576
Total expenditure £28,741
Of which, government grants £500
Trustees 3
Volunteers 5
Paid staff earning over £60,000 None

The register records that no trustee receives any remuneration, payment or benefit from the charity, and that its reporting is up to date.

The fundraising page was created on 28 August by Adam Knell, who is listed on the Charity Commission register as a trustee appointed in April 2025. It sets a target of £3,000 and had raised £55 from three donations when we checked on 30 August.

Read that target alongside the announcement. The charity describes buying a suitable minibus as “a significant investment” and says it is appealing to “our local community, businesses, organisations, grant-giving bodies and supporters” to make it happen. The GoFundMe is one strand of that appeal rather than the whole of it.

Newhaven, Lewes and District Mencap: income, expenditure and the appeal target A bar chart. Total income for the year ending 30 September 2025 was 34,576 pounds. Total expenditure was 28,741 pounds. The public fundraising target for the minibus appeal is 3,000 pounds, and 55 pounds had been raised from three donations by 30 August 2026. A £3,000 public target, against a charity that turns over £34,576 a year Sources: Charity Commission register, charity 270064, year ending 30 September 2025; GoFundMe page, checked 30 August 2026. Total income 2024-25 £34,576 Total expenditure 2024-25 £28,741 Minibus appeal target £3,000 Raised so far £55 from 3 donations, day three of the appeal The £3,000 is the public fundraising strand only. The charity says it is also approaching businesses, organisations and grant-giving bodies. Graphic by The Lewes Post
The appeal set against the charity's most recent published accounts.

Sixty-one years in one hall

The charity’s own history explains why Riverside Hall matters so much to this story.

It was formed in January 1965 as the Newhaven and District Society for Mentally Handicapped Children, set up by local parents and carers. It registered with the Charity Commission on 5 November 1975. Riverside Hall became its permanent home during the 1980s. In October 2009 it added Lewes to its title, and it says it has welcomed more than 100 members over the years from towns as far as Lewes, Eastbourne and Hove.

Its Friday Night Social Club has run for more than 1,200 nights across 26 years.

Since late 2023 the hall has also been available for private hire, with a capacity of 90. Its regular hirers include Sussex Cadets, a yoga class, the Repair Shop Cafe and Ouse Valley Morris Dancers.

The charity says on its fundraising page that it receives no financial support from the Royal Mencap Society, the national charity whose name it shares. Local Mencap groups are separate, independently registered charities.

What it means for you

If you want to donate, the appeal is on GoFundMe, and the charity also takes donations directly through its own website.

If you run a local business, this is the specific ask the charity has made public. It is looking for sponsorship, for organisations that could help with fundraising, and for grant-giving bodies. Riverside Hall also sells banner advertising, which is a straightforward commercial route into supporting it.

If you have time rather than money, the charity is run by three trustees and five volunteers, on the Charity Commission’s own figures. That is a small number of people for a hall, a weekly social club and more than 100 members.

If you need a hall in Newhaven, hiring Riverside Hall puts money into the same pot. It holds 90, and has a kitchen and a sensory room.

We will follow the appeal. If it reaches its target, or if a local business or grant funder steps in, we will report it.

Sources