A VITAL community service may be only three months away from closure because of a change of name.

Wallasey Council for Voluntary Service, the oldest serving CVS on Wirral, is waiting for essential funding to be approved after it re-named itself the Wirral Wide Development Trust.

Now, because of fears that it will not be able to provide the same level of service as the former CVS, it could be forced to close, organisers claim.

The Trust is asking for funding from Wirral Council's planning and economic regeneration committee to help get its ambitious plans off the ground and secure the future of nine paid staff. Its representatives will attend a council planning meeting tomorrow (Thursday).

Based on Liscard Road, the trust runs critical services including Helping Hands, which provides advice and help for more than 500 elderly and disabled people, Wirral Solvent and Substance Abuse and The Place in the Park.

Spokesperson Joan Bennett says ambitious plans for the future include buying the old Max Spielmann building and refurbishing it to work in partnership with the Liscard community and local traders on regenerating and expanding Liscard Road, attracting more businesses and investment into the area.

"Without the vital funding needed to keep us alive, those plans will have to be shelved," Ms Bennett says.

"If we are forced to close, thousands of elderly, disabled and young people who we have assisted will be left on their own."