Mother continues fight for Shirebrook day centre – as public opposes closures

Coun Sandra Peake, Bolsover Council member for Langwith, picked up the gauntlet when she heard Carter Lane Day Centre, in Shirebrook, which her daughter Donna has attended for more than 30 years, faced closure along with seven other Derbyshire Council adult care facilities.

The newly-released results of a public consultation over the closure proposals show 81 per cent of the 696 respondents disagreed with them, while only 12 per cent were in favour.

Coun Peake has already collected more than 400 names on an online petition against the closure of all three council-run facilities in Bolsover district and was at Langwith Show at the weekend to collect more.

She said: “We had a really good response from local people and are continuing our fight against these cuts which will have a devastating impact on the people who use them and their families who often rely on this respite.

“Once again, the county council is making cuts to services you pay for through the Council Tax they receive and it is not on.

“The more people that sign our petition the better and we will have a stronger case against the closures, as once they have gone they will not be replaced.”

In June, it was revealed four of the centres were already out of use prior to the end of the consultation period.

The council argues demand for the centres has decreased over recent years, claiming service users no longer want a ‘building-based service’.

To that end, the authority is proposing the use of community connectors to help them find employment and volunteering opportunities.

However, when asked as part of the consultation whether they agreed with the increased use of the Community Connector Service, 57 per cent of people said they did not, with only 24 per cent in favour and 18 per cent having no opinion either way.

A county council spokesman said: “We understand these proposals may be worrying, but we remain committed to supporting people with learning disabilities and/or who are autistic to lead independent lives.

“We recently consulted on proposed changes to our support which would put people at the heart of services, recognising that everyone has the potential to be an active part of their community and lead fulfilling lives.

“No decisions have yet been made and cabinet will fully consider all the responses we received as part of the consultation when it meets later in the autumn to decide on the proposals.”

County council cabinet members are expected to make a decision over the proposals in a meeting on October 13.

To sign the petition against the proposals, see chng.it/7WGJdBDgWL