Respite care service to close after 35 years

Lucy Humphrey from Leading Lives says families affected have been offered alternative facilities for respite care

A respite facility that gives carers a break is to close at the end of December.

For more than 35 years, Burgess House in Ipswich has offered people with learning disabilities and autism overnight short stays, which allow their families and carers to have a break from looking after them.

Burgess House, on Felixstowe Road, has been managed by not-for-profit organisation Leading Lives for the last 13 years.

Lucy Humphrey, its chief executive, said was a "vital service" but the needs of people who stay there "have changed over the years and the building is no longer fit for purpose".

Mencap said it was "committed" to upgrading Burgess House

Ms Humphrey confirmed there would be no job losses as a result of the closure as they were "working with staff to relocate to other services that we have".

The building is leased by Leading Lives and is owned by the charity Ipswich Mencap.

Leading Lives said the delays in upgrading the building had meant they had to close it.

According to the Ipswich Mencap website, they have been fundraising since 2023 to find £3.5m to replace Burgess House with low-level accessible accommodation.

Campaign material on the website also suggests they have struggled to raise the funds.

"It is very slow and with a lack of support from the community we do worry if we will ever be able to achieve our goal," it said.

"There is no lift and no en-suite bathrooms. The corridors are narrow and winding which are not really suitable for the larger wheelchairs."

Barbara Thorn, senior trustee of Ipswich Mencap, said: "It is very sad Leading Lives is ending its lease on Burgess House.

"As a charity we were committed to fulfil our promise to upgrade Burgess House, even though it would have taken longer than initially thought."

Other services available

Though Burgess House is closing after Christmas, Leading Lives does offer other overnight respite care services in Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft and Stowmarket.

Ms Humphrey said: "We're working with all individuals affected to go and visit our other services to see whether they will meet their needs."

She said that if users did not feel the other sites suited them,they were having "conversations with families" around alternative help Leading Lights could provide.