HIV charity facing uncertain future over Slough base

A charity that provides vital support for people living with HIV in Slough fears it will have to stop operating in the town if it has to leave its Bath Road home.

Thames Valley Positive Support (TVPS) has been based at 629 Bath Road for almost four decades where it offers emotional and practical support for those living with the virus.

But the charity is facing an uncertain future in Slough as its base is one of hundreds of properties which could be sold by Slough Borough Council as the local authority looks to pay off its multi-million pound debts.

Sarah Macadam, chief executive at TVPS, told the Express the charity received a visit from a member of the council’s property valuation team at the beginning of August.

The charity, which currently pays rent below the market rate, is now bracing itself for a rent increase or the daunting prospect of the building being sold.

Sarah said: “We can’t afford to pay market rent, especially not at short notice but even at long notice I don’t think we’d be able to.

“If the house is sold we don’t have premises so we can’t operate.

“Our service users have a lot on their plate anyway with the cost of living crisis.

“This is their safe haven, it’s the one constant in their lives where they know they will get a hot meal, a warm welcome and they can mix with other people affected by HIV.

“If you take that away from them they’re going to be so isolated.

“Where will they go to seek support?”

Thames Valley Positive Support has about 200 people who regularly use its service in Slough each week.

It operates a drop-in service where people living with HIV can socialise as well as offering support on immigration issues, debt and housing.

Last month (August), the Express reported how a report by the UK Health Security Agency showed Slough had the second highest diagnosed prevalence rate of HIV in the South East of England in 2021.

Sarah said: “We’re busier than we’ve ever been before. We’ve had more new referrals this year than we’ve ever had and I’ve worked here for 20 years.

“We’re finding we can’t support our service users as effectively as we’d like because all our efforts are going in to try to keep the house.”

She added: “Unless we can find a property elsewhere at the rent we’re paying now, we just can’t operate in the town.

“We’d just have to stop.

“We would look at basing ourselves elsewhere in Berkshire but that’s not ideal for people living in Slough.

“We’d have to seriously consider what, if anything, we can offer in Slough.”

A Slough Borough Council spokesperson said: “The property is on the list of assets that could potentially be sold as the council owns it.

“There are however no plans to sell the property at present, and at the moment officers are working to

formalise the group’s occupation of the property, as it is currently only on basis of a very old heads of terms.

“In the future options likely to be considered may include granting the current occupier a long lease if agreement can be reached on terms.”