Closing centre will hit families

I note from a report in the Express & Star that Worcestershire county councillors have been brainwashed into agreeing that the Lea Castle Centre should be closed due to it being unfit for purpose.

This excellent centre with good buildings, access and parking has deliberately and systematically been run down so that the site can be sold for housing.

I just wonder how much experience these nameless paper shufflers have of the 24-hour-a-day needs of people with mental illness and learning difficulties and whether any of them have bothered to consult the real experts – trained staff, parents, guardians, carers and helpers.

They would tell you that they have been robbed of the therapy pool (used mainly by people who spend days in wheelchairs), the dental clinic and the toy library.

The outpatient consultants department with good parking is soon to be moved to some back street.

The 35 residents are going to be uprooted and sent miles away from their families, and 35 trained staff will lose their jobs.

Over the last three years, people with learning difficulties attending day centres have lost playing fields, gardens for gardening, greenhouses, workshops and large function rooms. All these things and many more could be provided in the existing buildings and grounds at Lea Castle including a desperately needed respite centre.

All those who have decided to discriminate against some of the most vulnerable people in society by advocating this centre closure ought to be there when demolition starts.

They may like to clap and cheer as each building is bulldozed to the ground, robbing these poor people of much-needed facilities and opportunities most of us take for granted.

John H Collins, (parent with 38 years' experience) Windermere Way, Stourport-on-Severn.