Leicester day centre for disabled people can close, council decides

The Hastings Road Day Centre has supported people with learning disabilities since 2005

A move to shut down a day centre in Leicester for people with learning disabilities will go ahead despite councillors raising concerns over the impact on families.

Plans to close Hastings Road Day Centre were approved by Leicester City Council earlier this month, citing "dwindling demand".

However, the decision had been "called in" by five opposition councillors.

But this was withdrawn at a meeting on Tuesday night, meaning it can now shut.

The centre has not been best placed to offer the full support needed by the people who use it, the Labour-run council has said.

It can care for up to 30 people, but only has 19 currently using it and has had no new referrals since 2016, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

'Great concerns'

Tory councillors Sanjay Modhwadia, Dilip Joshi and Ravi Mahesh, alongside Green councillor Patrick Kitterick and the Liberal Democrats' Nigel Porter, "called-in" the cabinet's decision amid concerns about the impact on the centre's users.

Mr Porter said: "The closure of the centre is causing great concerns to the families who rely on its services.

"The council has failed to explain that for the last six or seven years [it] has not been referring individuals to the [service]."

However, the "call-in" was withdrawn at the meeting of the council's adult social care committee after a vote by members.

The authority said it spent about £1.4m a year keeping the day centre open.

It said it could save £300,000 a year by closing it and accessing support for service users through independent providers.

Sarah Russell, deputy city mayor for social care, said: "Now the call-in has been withdrawn, we can focus on supporting the families and staff at the centre, and helping families to find alternative provision which meets their needs.

"We will do this at a pace that works for people, working sensitively with them to manage this change. We have always been clear that the day centre will remain open until we have done this."

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