A SUPPORT group for blind people has hit out at Kirklees Council after its monthly gathering was pushed aside by a pre- budget meeting.
The Macular Disease Society - whose 50 local members are all blind or have severe sight loss - meet on the first Wednesday of each month in the Huddersfield Town Hall reception room.
The group was due to meet last week , but when members arrived they were told their room was being used for a pre-budget meeting for one of the council parties.
They were told to come back the following day.
Most of the members - in their 60s, 70s and 80s - left as soon as they heard the news, despite having struggled to get to the Town Hall on public transport.
Only a handful remained when, finally, a smaller room was found and a guest speaker gave a talk.
The people who came back the following day missed out on the speaker.
Society chairman Mrs Ailsa Tate said meetings provided vital entertainment for members, many of whom hardly left the house.
She said: "We pay for the room and we always have it. If I had been there I would have stood my ground. We got no notification that they had changed the plans.
"Routine is very important to our members. They have to memorise routes and times to get here."
"I am worried now because I have speakers coming from Derby, Scarborough and Canada soon and I don't want this sort of thing happening. You just don't treat people like this."
A Kirklees Council spokes- woman apologised for the incident. She said: "They were unable to have the first Wednesday of the month, as usual, because of the council meeting.
"Some confusion seems to have resulted because of this.
"We are sorry to hear about this because they are regular users of the Town Hall and we seek to look after all our customers."
