Heartbeat is taking over the National Football Museum

A Preston charity has applied for nearly £14,000 from Lancashire County Council to fund its new health centre.

Heartbeat is taking over the former National Football Museum at Deepdale stadium and needs funding to kit it out.

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Nearly £40,000 is to be spent on buying equipment to create a bespoke cardiac centre.

A total of £13,895 has been applied for via the local member grants where county councillors can award money to local charities and community groups.

A statement from Heartbeat says: “The money requested is to purchase pieces of equipment that will allow our local people to undertake an effective cardiac rehabilitation programme to help them improve their health, reduce their cardiac symptoms and reduce their risk of future heart problems.”

Figures from the charity show 11 per cent of the Preston population is affected by cardiovascular disease, and in the Deepdale area this increases to 12 per cent.

The charity is using nearly £20,000 in its reserves to fund the Heartbeat centre, but says it needs money from the council to purchase the equipment.

Preston East county councillor Kevin Ellard has approved £700 towards the centre, although he was asked for £1,498 but said he does not have enough funding left to give.

County councillor Frank De Molfetta, who represents Preston Central North, approved £300 out of a request £2,000 as he wants to fund as many different groups as possible in his area.

Preston Central South county councillor Carl Crompton has given £250 out of £1,498 saying he also wants to fund different groups in his local area.

Heartbeat chief executive Jill Rogerson said: “Heartbeat applied for the grants from LCC to gain localised support for its new Heart centre, a centre that will support residents from all of the localities that the local member grants support. Heartbeat has historically not received any local grant funding despite delivering services to Lancashire residents for over 35 years.

“The charity has been self-funded since its inception but is now working hard to find the final part of the funds for the centre. We are grateful for any contribution that our local councillors are able to make and we look forward to receiving the outcome of all our funding applications to help with our move. 1-4 Lancashire residents will fall victim to heart disease, 1-3 in our BME communities, it is the UK single biggest killer, help Heartbeat continue the fight against heart disease.”

County councillors Yousef Motala, Geoff Driver, Keith Sedgewick, David Borrow, George Wilkins, Jennifer Mein and Bill Winlow are still to make decisions on whether they will provide any funding towards the project.