Petition handed to county hall to save Risborough Day Centre (From Bucks Free Press)

Petition handed to county hall to save Risborough Day Centre

1:39pm Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

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MORE than 3,000 signatures were handed to a county councillor yesterday in a bid to save Princes Risborough's day care centre which residents say is “like a family”.

About 60 people descended on the county hall in Aylesbury to deliver the petition, including people who use the centre in Clifford Road.

It objects to the centre's closure which is included in Buckinghamshire County Council's proposals to close 22 day care centres across the county.

Town and county councillor Carl Etholen handed the signatures to BCC Cabinet Member for Adult and Family Wellbeing Patricia Birchley.

Paula Salmon, 45, of Courtmoor Close, Princes Risborough, is a regular user of the town’s day centre. The part time shop worker explained she had suffered from mental health issues.

She said: “It’s a family setting and people of all different walks of life and with all different difficulties mix together.

“We attend all on the same day so we do not get segregated. We learn things – new skills and how to communicate with people on a similar level or a level above what people are at.

“It brings people out of their shell and gives them confidence. We are a small community in a larger community”

She said to lose the centre would be absolutely disastrous for some people.

The county council plan to close the 22 centres and in their place open two main hubs- one in Aylesbury and High Wycombe, with two smaller satellites in Burnham and Buckingham.

Cllr Etholen said: “I have been overwhelmed by the support of our local community against these absurd proposals by Bucks County Council to close our highly valued neighbourhood Day Care facilities.

“I have to thank Peter Robinson, in particular, in helping me to spearhead this protest. I just hope that Bucks County Council will listen to and, most importantly, hear what we are saying.”

The day centre is for people with learning disabilities, mental health problems or physical disabilities and the Red Cross Centre helps elderly people lead independent lives.

Peter Robinson, committee chairman of the charity Risborough Cares which provides financial support and volunteers at the day centre, said: “It is such an excellent facility. It is fit for purpose. A lot of the information that BCC put out is about buildings that are out of date and need a lot of repairs. That isn't the case there.

“We have got so many facilities there for the clients to use.” The public consultation on the proposals closes on September 6.