Families plan to take over day centre to save it

A group of families has revealed plans to save a day centre by buying it from the council and running it themselves.

Buckinghamshire Council wants to close the facility at Burnham near Slough in June so it can sell the building.

But the campaigners say they will raise the funds to purchase it and will offer the same services to adults with complex needs.

Senior councillor Isobel Darby has said the authority will continue to "engage with the local community on the future of the site".

Families have opposed the reorganisation plans ever since they were first published last year.

The council says families of the Burnham centre will be able to use Seeleys House in Beaconsfield, which is already used as a "short breaks" centre offering overnight accommodation for adults with complex needs, learning disabilities and autism.

But relatives say their loved ones are familiar with the facilities at Burnham and know the staff well, so it would be traumatic to move them elsewhere.

They tried to get the council's decision to close the centres, and another one at High Wycombe, reviewed by a judge, but their application failed.

Hazel Howe, whose son Thomas has been going to Burnham for 13 years, said the group was registering to set up a community trust.

"We will have to raise the money ourselves through the community, through big organisations," she said.

Howe added that the council had not said how much it would be prepared to sell the building for.

She urged the council to "start the negotiation, start the talks and let us take this site on as a community asset and save the council a fortune in the long run".

Darby, the Conservative-led council's cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said the centre was due to close on schedule by the end of June.

She added: "We are modernising support, repurposing under-used buildings and moving away from a building-based model towards more tailored care."

Darby said the council had not yet invited any bids.

Many councils are looking at reducing the number of buildings they maintain to provide support for people with complex needs.

They say individuals will benefit because of tailor-made home-based services, but any change is often difficult for people who rely on familiar routines, buildings and staff.

There is also the worry of lost opportunities for social interaction if day centres close.

Some families question whether these proposals are driven more by financial considerations than by a genuine desire to do the best for some of society's most vulnerable people.

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