Care centres face closure in £102m savings plan

The facilities in Burntwood and Great Wyrley have been earmarked for closure in August. The buildings will then be put on the market and sold by Staffordshire County Council.

Council bosses said that closing Oakdene Day Centre in Burntwood and Great Wyrley Day Centre would save the council around £631,521.

Forty-eight members of staff work at the centres and it is believed some jobs will go as part of the moves, although an exact number is not yet known. Other workers will be relocated elsewhere.

Council chiefs said that moves to shut the centres were due to falling user numbers and unsuitable ageing buildings.

Burntwood North County Councillor Sue Woodward today said she was concerned about the elderly people who use the two centres.

She said: "Issues like these are never easy. I have been concerned about the remaining service users and where they will go.

"We need to make sure they get the support they need moving forward. It's also sad staff will be losing their jobs."

Oakdene Day Centre has a capacity for 60 elderly people and is currently used by around 21 people. Attendance levels have decreased by 62.5 per cent since June 2010.

The centre's closure is expected to save the council £201,989 a year. Fifteen members of staff work at the centre.

Meanwhile Great Wyrley Day Centre has a capacity for 110 elderly people but is used by an average 23 people most days. Attendance numbers have dropped by 58 per cent since 2010.

Thirty-three members of staff work at the centre. The closure is expected to save the council £429,532 a year.

Councillor Alan White, cabinet member for care, said: "We are committed to supporting the more elderly members of our community to enjoy as active, fulfilled and rewarding lives as possible.

"For us, this about helping ensure residents receive tailored, personalised, flexible support and the dwindling numbers using some centres, falling by 62 per cent at Oakdene and 50 per cent at Great Wyrley since 2010, is evidence that many people are already choosing not to attend them.

"Many of the buildings were opened when there was little or no choice available to older people, but times have changed and we feel dated and often half empty buildings can no longer meet the needs of our residents.

"There is already a network of support available to meet the needs of people requiring various levels of support and over the coming weeks we will be working with the remaining people who use the day centres and their families to find alternative support better suited to their needs."

Elderly people who use the two centres will be sent to other facilities nearby, run by charities or organisations, not by the county council.

A final decision is due to be made in days.