Son to 'keep fighting' for Borders day centre after court victory

Campaigners, including Mr Elliot, opposed the closure

The son of a woman with Alzheimer's has vowed to "keep fighting" despite a legal victory against the closure of his mother's day service.

Sean Elliot, along with the families of other service users, opposed the closure by Scottish Borders Council (SBC) of Teviot Day Centre in 2019.

This week Lady Carmichael ruled in the Court of Session that the closure in Hawick was "unlawful".

SBC said it accepted the decision and was looking at the implications.

Mr Elliot, whose mother Madge attended the centre three times a week, had campaigned vigorously over the past three years to reverse the closure.

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Although he has welcomed Lady Carmichael's judgement, he believes there is still more to be done.

Mr Elliot said: "This is a battle victory but we need to continue the campaign until we see buildings-based services being delivered once more.

"I would like to also see SBC apologise to the communities that they adversely impacted by what is proven to be an unlawful decision to close the day centres."

Mr Elliot said he would like to see the council apologise to communities

SBC closed all of its six elderly day centres - in Eyemouth, Kelso, Jedburgh, Galashiels, Peebles and Hawick - in 2019, due to what it claimed was a reduction in user numbers.

Although objections were raised, including a 3,000-signature petition, the local authority stuck by its decision.

This week Lady Carmichael described the decision-making as "unlawful" as it did not consult with the users of the day centres.

Mr Elliot believes the Court of Session decision applies to everyone who was affected by the 2019 closures.

He added: "Lady Carmichael alluded to the fact that this is not just about two people in Hawick, it applies to all the people who have been denied the opportunity to attend day services, and all of the unpaid carers who have been denied the opportunity of respite.

"Until we know what SBC are going to do, we will keep on fighting."

Further report

Lady Carmichael ruled that the closure of the centre was flawed and unlawful as the consultation process did not meet the Equality Act 2010 requirements.

SBC has accepted the ruling and said it would not be appealing the decision.

In a statement it said: "The impact of the judgement is that there is therefore now no legal decision in place to close the centre.

"The council fully accepts the judgement of the court and a report will now be brought forward to council next week setting out the recommended course of action."

It added: "The council would like to apologise unreservedly to service users and their families for any distress or inconvenience they may have suffered in this matter."