A CHARITY for deaf people in Bristol could be forced to sell its base to cover a £700,000 shortfall in its pension fund.

The 127-year-old Bristol Centre for Deaf People is considering selling its home in Kingsdown for redevelopment to plug the huge deficit.

An emergency general meeting held at the centre in King Square on Wednesday heard that trustees would need to decide how to fill the funding gap by March next year.

Members were told the centre could be sold for about £600,000 to Elim Housing Association, which plans to demolish the property to build houses and offices as part of a two-year project.

Under Elim's plans, space on the ground floor of the new building would be made available for the centre to rent out and would include a bar, chapel, meeting areas and gardens.

Some of the 75 members at the meeting claimed the centre had been undervalued and suggested the club had ended up with a big pension shortfall as a result of mismanagement by its board of trustees.

Trustee Elaine Taylor, who chaired the meeting, said a property firm had valued the building and land at between £565,000 and £750,000, depending on whether it would be used for student accommodation or affordable housing.

She said members could opt to sell the building and move to another property in the city.

Ms Taylor said the centre had become run-down, with its heating system failing, and that members had become fearful of attending the building at night due to people hanging around the park in King Square.

The meeting heard that the pension deficit had arisen partly due the global economic crisis and would need to be paid to Avon Pension Fund by March 1 next year, when the last remaining member of the centre's pension scheme is due to leave the charity.

The meeting was told employees of the centre had left their positions following funding cuts imposed by Bristol City Council.

In September, the Evening Post reported council funding for the centre would stop in November.

The authority has cut the centre's main income which supports the core funding, equipment service and special projects.

Centre member Lorna Allsop told the meeting she was concerned about the plans to sell the building and land.

She said: "The space on the ground floor could be too small.

"I'm worried people are getting pushed into this. Would we be allowed to hold social events if there are flats above?

"There might be lots of restrictions on the use of the space."

Fellow member Hal Draper said: "We are talking about renting another property but this is the deaf community's space and its home.

"Deaf people have been coming here for 60 to 70 years and we are about to lose all that because people have become obsessed with pensions."

The centre was founded in 1884 to provide a wide range of services for deaf and hard of hearing people in the area.