A care centre for adults with learning difficulties is set to be shut down by Croydon Council.

Earlier this month parents and children who use Heather Way respite centre in Monks Hill received letters from the council informing them the service would be forced to close because it “offers little flexibility” and “struggles to meet the needs of some people”.

The decision had been made after an “extensive review” of the centre, which offers short-stay breaks for people with learning disabilities, the council said.

But Sas Gabriel, 54, whose 29-year-old daughter Jade stays at the centre “three or four times a year”, said she and other parents had not been asked about any possible changes before receiving the letter.

She added: “It was only when we got on the phone and said, who the hell have you consulted, that they backtracked.”

Last week, parents received a second letter telling them the closure plans would be halted while the council carried out a three-month period of “co-production” to resolve Heather Way’s future.

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The centre at Heather Way

It said that “whilst the council had proposed to close Heather Way, a final decision will not be made until after the views of service users and carers have been obtained and considered as part of the decision making process”.

The original decision came three years after the closure of Croydon’s only other respite centre, in Craignish Avenue, Norbury.

Ms Gabriel said that closure had left her without respite from caring for her daughter, who has Down’s Syndrome, for at least a year, an experience she described as “horrendous”.

FROM 2013: Respite centre at Heather Way South Croydon to re-open following refurbishment

She added: “I love her to bits and she’s very capable – but there’s a routine.

“It’s nice just to be able for 48 hours to be an adult, to do what I want to do.”

When she received the letter informing her of Heather Way’s closure, Ms Gabriel said: “I thought, ‘Here we go again’. [And] Jade said, ‘Now it’s war.’”

Describing the centre as a “home away from home” for those who use it, Ms Gabriel said: “It’s an extension of her social circle, so she can meet up with her friends.

“For us parents, the staff there know all our children’s foibles and quirks, so they understand them. If one of them is having an off day they can understand and sort it out.

“They know what drugs they are on, they know of they have a set routine. They take them out, they know that they can contact them.

“I can’t just sit by and let them do this again.”

Among Croydon Council’s proposed alternatives to respite care at Heather Way include supported holidays, care at home, supported community activities, or residential care.

Ms Gabriel, who estimated the centre was used by up to 100 families in the borough, said she was sceptical about the proposed “co-production”, given the council had already signalled its intention to close Heather Way.

At a meeting at Croydon town hall yesterday to discuss the closure, one council officer compared the cost of a night of care at Heather Way “to staying at the Ritz”, and parents were all forced to confirm they were not members of the press, Ms Gabriel said.

She added: “Unless they have a child, an adult with special needs, they haven’t got a clue. I said to them, walk one year in my shoes and then tell me what I do or do not need.”

A council spokesman said: “Under these proposed improvements we will provide a more tailored, 24/7 respite care service that meets the individual needs and interests of every Croydon adult with a learning disability that we look after, ranging from dedicated home support to accompanied short breaks.

“Council staff will be working with users and their families over the next three months to jointly design the best respite care service in future, and until this has happened no final decision will be made on what happens to the Heather Way service.”

Do you use the centre at Heather Way? Call the newsdesk on 020 8722 6388 or email daniel.omahony@newsquest.co.uk