Plans for overnight respite centres submitted

Surrey County Council has submitted plans for short-stay centres in Woking and Banstead

A county council has submitted plans to build short-stay centres in a bid to address a "chronic shortage" of overnight respite places for carers.

The two plans proposed by Surrey County Council would see accommodation offered in Woking and Banstead.

The council made the bid to address a care system that is “under significant strain and is facing long and sustained operational and financial challenges”.

One councillor said he hopes the plans will help carers "recharge their batteries and get a bit of a break".

The plans include two sets of eight en-suite bedrooms for short-break accommodation together with sensory rooms, living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, and supporting staff facilities.

The Woking site will be on the former Lakers youth centre in Goldsworth Park, Denton Way, with the Banstead site replacing The Squirrels, in the Horseshoe, Bolters Lane.

Cllr Mark Nuti, cabinet member for adults and health, said: “We value what carers do incredibly highly, so it’s really important we offer our residents these types of facilities."

Mr Nuti said the facilities will be "flexible", "adaptable" and able to accommodate people with "many different disabilities and needs".

"They will be comfortable and fit for purpose, and able to accommodate more people than we can at the moment," he added.

Council documents show there are seven registered bed-based short breaks services in Surrey but only five are operational.

They provide a maximum of 33 beds – which can be lowered if needed by people with “increasingly complex needs”, the council said. These cover the 1,345 people in Surrey living with family carers.

Fewer than eight percent of those eligible currently access provision, council figures show.

The council also predicts a 10% rise in users over the next decade as well as an increasingly “ageing” and “inappropriate service”.