Walsall day centre for elderly closing after 15 years

The Apna Ghar day centre, in Pleck, provides day care for up to 60 elderly people each month.

But the centre, which is open to people over 50 in the Walsall borough, will close on Friday, 15 years after opening.

Operators Accord Housing Group made the decision after withdrawing funding due to 'Government pressures'. The group has solely funded the centre after Walsall Council stopped financial support two years ago. It is not yet known if there will be any job losses.

Maxine Espley, executive director of health, social care and support for the Accord Group, said: "It is with great regret that we have to close Apna Ghar Day Centre.

"However, having self-funded the service for the last two years following the withdrawal of Walsall Council funding it has become clear, with new Government pressures on housing associations, that the service is no longer financially viable.

"We have met with customers and their families and are working with the Council to help find alternative day care provision in the area.

"Where possible, we are also working with staff to find alternative roles within the wider Accord Group."

Pardeep Kairo, 34, a college lecturer from Pleck, has started a petition calling on bosses to reconsider the decision or find a way to keep the Apna Ghar day centre open.

So far he has collected nearly 300 signatures in person and online.

He said: "The centre provides such a valuable and crucial service to elderly and vulnerable people in Walsall.

"It serves all ethnic groups and the staff have always been helpful in making sure the personal and social needs of those who attend are met.

"The Accord Housing Group even spent a lot of money refreshing the site a couple of years ago and now it is set to close."

He added: "We are supposed to be dealing with an increasingly elderly population in Walsall and taking away facilities like this is only going to cause damage."

After taking control of the day centre two years ago, Accord Housing group funded a £750,000 revamp of the site, which was transformed with the installation of new central heating and hot water systems, as well as a dining room with internet access.

In light of the news regarding its closure, Councillor Harbans Singh Sarohi said: "I was actually told by Pardeep that the day care centre was going to close.

"It shocked me because this has been a part of the community in Pleck for a long time.

"After originally acting as a place to help elderly Asian people with difficulties speaking English to socialise, it has grown into a place where people of all backgrounds are welcomed.

"To me, this represents the closure of a big piece of local community history and it feels like there is slowly becoming nothing left of Pleck."