A wood recycling charity has announced it will close with the likely loss of 12 jobs.

The Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project, also known as the Wood Store, diverts waste wood away from landfill and incineration in East and West Sussex while promoting the re-use and recycling of waste wood.

The charity, which will close at the end of the year, said timber prices had “increased considerably” in recent years and the construction industry had become “more mindful” to minimise waste.

“This is a good thing for the environment but undermines our original business model, which relied on this income,” the charity said.

“Although we believe this may pick up again in the future, we do not have sufficient reserve funds to continue operations in the short-to-mid term.”

The charity said its primary revenue stream from recycling construction timber by preventing it going to waste and selling it for reuse or making bespoke furniture had almost disappeared.

The charity, which had an income of £439,743 for the year to the end of March 2023, has 11 part-time and one full-time employee, with 60 volunteers across two locations in Brighton and Lewes. 

The charity said its ambition had been to grow revenue to a point where it could purchase a permanent site or afford the cost of commercial rent.

“Unfortunately, the past few years of economic uncertainty has made these ambitions impossible and our current sites are coming to the end of their lease agreements,” the charity said.

“Over the past few months we’ve tried to boost income, and received generous support from funders and the public, but it’s not been enough to survive.”

The charity’s board has decided to wind down while it still has “sufficient funds” to ensure it meets all its financial debts, particularly payments to its staff.

All funds raised during the winding-down period will go to its creditors, in line with Charity Commission regulations, and to support its staff with redundancy, the charity said.

Pete West, chief executive of the Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project, said he was “frankly gutted” that the charity had to close.

“As timber prices have soared since Covid-19 the industry has become more careful to minimise waste – good for the environment but [it] has pulled the rug from under us,” he said.

“We also face the problem of finding premises now that so many affordable employment sites have been redeveloped for housing.

“Then there is the economy: people simply don’t have the money they did – they have stopped buying our workshop products and timber for DIY.

“It’s certainly not a choice we wish to make, but we have no alternative,” West said