Heartbreak as Birmingham day care centres shut
CARERS and adults with learning difficulties packed into a council meeting and begged councillors not to close two day centres in Birmingham– but their pleas were ignored.
It was standing room only as about 60 people tried to persuade the council not to go ahead with plans to shut Aldridge Road in Perry Barr and Collingwood in Northfield.
But the closure of the centres – revealed by the Birmingham Mail recently – was confirmed, with one senior councillor admitting the decision had “kept us awake at night.”
Shutting the centres, which provide day care for adults with learning difficulties, will save the social services department £5 million and follows a period of consultation by the council.
Originally a third centre in Hockley was also due to shut, but that has been saved. Aldridge Road and Collingwood are expected to close by the end of the summer.
Coun Sue Anderson, Cabinet member for adults and communities, said the buildings dated back to the 1970s and were both three-storey with no lifts, making them unsuitable for most of the users. They were under-used, with Collingwood running at just 50 per cent occupancy.
“This has not been an easy process for anyone involved,” she said. “We understand that people who use these centres and their carers are concerned about the impact of change, but it does not make economic sense to keep spending money supporting centres that have large vacancy rates.”
