Although the education, culture and sport committee had been recommended to wind up both the Janny's Hoose and the Healthways Project in Ross-shire, members agreed to give the projects until January before re-considering their future.

Inverness Central councillors — in whose ward the Janny's Hoose is located — hope to have a meeting next week with representatives of the Fairer Scotland Fund, a Scottish Government initiative aimed at tackling poverty.

Campaigners from the flagship project, which enables residents in one of the most deprived areas to access information and support on a wide range of issues, also plan to join forces with other Scottish healthy living centres next month to lobby health secretary Nicola Sturgeon.

Councillor Peter Corbett said the model of the Janny's Hoose may have to change for it to survive. "I feel a bit like the condemned man who is waiting for a pardon from the government," he said.

Inverness MP Danny Alexander, who acknowledged The Inverness Courier's campaign had already helped secure a stay of execution for the project, called on the Scottish Government to intervene. "The local people whose work has made the centre such a success will be bitterly disappointed if funding ends now," he said.

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