Staffordshire day centre facing axe in plan to save £109m

Bosses at Staffordshire County Council want to shut the base in Histons Hill, Codsall, as part of a massive overhaul of services as they battle to make £109 million cuts in five years.

Nine centres in total across the county will be affected, with some downsizing, moving or closing all together, under current recommendations.

Also, services that move will be run by charities, community groups and even private companies. Other centres affected included ones in Cannock, Lichfield, Stafford, Kidsgrove, Newcastle, Burton and Tamworth.

If the county council's cabinet agree with the recommendation at a meeting tomorrow, the centre in Codsall will shut and be sold. Service users will be forced to travel elsewhere.

The news comes after angry families staged a protest against plans to axe Chase Day Services in its current location in Longford Road, Cannock. Around 80 protestors gathered in Cannock town centre on Saturday.

Dave Bailey, of Old Fallow Road, Cannock, whose son Stuart, aged 46, uses the centre, said: "We had a very good turnout of people showing their support.

"Nobody wants to see these services go because it is completely unfair on those who rely on them.

"Stuart has been going there since he was 19. He has got a lot of friends there but if it closes down he will become completely isolated.

"The council has said that these centres are like prisons and they want to try and integrate the people who use them back into the community but they aren't like that at all.

"They are absolutely vital for all of us and the staff who work there are amazing, despite being faced with the prospect that they may lost their jobs.

"All the council cares about is cutting costs and I think it is a disgrace. If these centres close, they will completely devastate lives."

Under the proposed recommendation, services for those with more complex needs will continue to be provided by the county council due to a lack of independent providers able to cater for them.

Bosses at the county council say the overhaul is part of measures designed to improve the quality of care.

A public consultation into the county council's proposals was launched in August. It finished last month.

Robbie Marshall, the council's cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said when it launched that the proposals were very much about 'improving' the quality of support and the quality of lives for people.