Concern at plans to move lifeline day centre

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

People whose lives have been transformed by a day centre which is the only opportunity for some to get out of the house are fighting to stop a Welsh council from moving it.

Vale of Glamorgan Council wants to move New Horizons day centre for adults with physical disabilities from its current home at Hen Goleg Resource Centre in Barry to a building in Thompson Street.

The council said the move was part of plans to modernise the delivery of services and save money.

However, some New Horizons clients have accused them of putting “pounds before people” and say they will be getting a reduced service as they move to a space that’s much smaller.

Ben Stradling, 49, is one of the clients who goes to New Horizons regularly. He was a labourer and avid surfer for many years until his life changed forever.

Ben said: “After I had my stroke, people live their lives and they get on with their lives… and you lose track.

“Coming here is the only socialising I get to do… with peers, people who understand where I am coming from who have been through a similar sort of thing.”

‘Heartbreaking’

Asked about losing his ability so surf following his stroke Ben added: “[It was] heartbreaking.

“It’s part of my identity. I was a surfer.”

Ben said he’s been able to start building his confidence back up in the water through Surfability UK in the Gower and through NHS hydrotherapy but the gym at New Horizons has also been crucial to his recovery.

He added: “When I first started coming here I was using a quad stick… and my shoulder was still popping out where my left side was so weak.

“My walking was really dodgy. I had to wear a splint and everything but I have come on massively using the gym equipment.”

Vale of Glamorgan Council admitted the proposed new space for New Horizons is smaller but the way in which it will be used is still being discussed with clients.

At the Hen Goleg site clients currently benefit from a hall, crafts room, workshop, and gym with specialist equipment.

Public gym

Some clients at New Horizons said the new space won’t have a gym and they may have to use Barry Leisure Centre instead.

Ben said: “If we are going into a public gym… you don’t want to be glared at and we talk about our disabilities.

“It is just a comfortable environment and we don’t want other people overhearing our conversations, talking about accidents we have and things like that.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

On whether it is something that would affect his choice to attend New Horizons, he added: “I would have to wait and see what it was like to be honest.

“If they turned around and it was like everything they said it was going to be yes it would.

“If we were using the gym somewhere else and there was no workshop, because that’s why I come to use the workshop and use the gym.”

After college, Ben said he went on to work in carpentry and for him, the workshop plays an important part in his life.

There and in the crafts room, clients make a variety of items that go on to have a use in the community, like their batboxes, or are sold at events.

Chris Bannister, who has been attending New Horizons for about 22 years, said that if the centre downsized at the expense of the services on offer it would make him think again about attending.

He said: “We get a lot of our wood and [other materials] from local companies.

“We have timber we cut on our saws and we cut it for what we want and what we can make out of it.

“What they are suggesting is that we have a company outside that will do everything for us and all we have got to do is put it together.

“It won’t work.”

Another client at New Horizons, Mark Roderick, said: “As far as the workshop is concerned, for people like Chris and all the others who work there, it is their creative outlet.

“They come in here and there is the chance to be – and I hate using the word – but it is a chance of being ‘normal’.

“They come here and they don’t consider themselves in a workshop in a day centre.

“They consider it in their place of work and they are creating stuff not just for themselves but for the wider community as well to sell on.

“The pride they get from doing that is really heartwarming and to think that could be taken away from them just because they [the council] are putting pounds before people is really heart wrenching.”

Downsized

The concern clients currently have is not just that they could be downsized to one floor of the old Filco Supermarket on Thompson Street but that they might also have to share this floor with another service, further reducing the space they would have.

Mark said: “Where we are now is costing [the council] an awful lot of money and we recognise it’s costing a lot of money and we see the benefit in moving.

“My issue is that they are moving us to a building or space which isn’t like-for-like so we can’t take with us the things that people enjoy here and benefit from using here so we are not only moving to a different location, we are also downsizing.

“We are also having cutbacks on the things that are central to the people here.

“If we move to a place that’s like for like or even if we had something better to move into you wouldn’t get a word of complaint.

“They are having to move from here which is distressing enough for some clients because they have been here for 15-20 years but also we are downsizing.

“We are going to a second-rate service and that’s what we don’t find acceptable.

“Whenever you ask people, especially with a disability, any sort of change can be quite upsetting and distressing but to make the change a negative change is really having an adverse affect on the people who use this service and that’s what we are fighting for.”

Modernise

A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesman said: “The council is exploring the possibility of relocating some of its day services to a different building.

“It is hoped this will modernise how this provision is delivered, making it more appealing to new users, while existing clients would continue to receive the same level of support as there would be no reduction in service.

“With a more central location, it will be easier to access other services and supported employment opportunities from the new site.

“Similar models implemented elsewhere in the country have been explored with our service users and initial feedback on plans has been largely positive.

“By purchasing a new site, the council will also no longer have to pay rent or carry out costly building repairs.

“The new space is smaller, but how it will be used is still being discussed with service users.

“Until that has been properly considered, it is too early to comment on the activities that would be available onsite and those which could take place in the wider community.”