Day centre for disabled adults in Brighton to close

The last council-run day centre for adults with learning disabilities and autism in Brighton and Hove is to close.

Wellington House currently offers care to 21 people but will be shut to save £336,000 a year, despite strong opposition.

Council leaders said users would be transitioned to other services of equal or better quality in the city.

But relatives and carers said Wellington House offered a unique service and the move would be "devastating" for the vulnerable adults with complex needs.

A 12-week council consultation showed 96% of respondents opposed the closure, with concerns over a "highly distressing and potentially devastating" impact on users, their families and carers.

At a protest outside the council's cabinet meeting on Thursday, Lou Vaughan said her brother Matt had attended Wellington House for 10 years and "made this his life".

She said: "It's their routine, it's their familiarity with their friendships, with the carers that know them as well as their families do."

Tony Hammond's sister Susan, 60, has attended Wellington House for 40 years.

He said she would be "devastated" that she and her friends would be "scattered across the city".

James Burrage said the day centre provided essential respite for him and his wife while caring for their daughter Lisa, 44, and the closure didn't justify the estimated saving.

"There are many other ways that they could actually save money rather than just shutting the one place where these people can go to," he said.

Corinna Edwards-Colledge, a Unison branch secretary for Brighton and Hove, said it was a "terrible mistake" to close the day centre and the decision would "cost a lot more money down the line".

The union represents some of the 21 staff at Wellington House who will now be redeployed following a further consultation.

She said: "People have been shunted from one day centre to another. This is the last one.

"Some of these people have incredibly profound needs that we believe no other provider in the city can give them a space for.

"There's loads of room in Wellington House for more people. Bring them in and then you bring that unit cost down.

"It could be a centre of excellence for this kind of service. So we say fill it, don't close it."

Closure was recommended in the council's budget for 2026-27 which was agreed in March.

The estimated annual saving has since been reduced from £400,000 to £336,000 a year, giving a saving of £1m by 2030.

Councillor Mitchie Alexander insisted the move was not about cutting services, but about delivering a day centre option for adults with learning disabilities through the independent sector.

"I do not enjoy having to make a decision that's upsetting and confusing for some, but I have a duty as a cabinet member to make sure services move forward in a sustainable way," she said.

Alexander said independent services could provide care at £60-£99 per day compared with £244 currently and the ageing Victorian property had cost £250,000 in maintenance in recent years.

No date for closure has been set as the council said it would only shut the centre once every user had been transitioned to an alternative service.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Sussex on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.