- 11/02/2011
- Posted by: Joyce Watson MS
- Category: Feature
Local Assembly Member Joyce Watson AM has joined the fight to save Aberystwyth Day Centre, after visiting to hear users’ concerns.
Deputy Mayor of Aberystwyth Town Council, Richard Boudier, invited her, and they met a range of centre users.
Ceredigion Council are rumoured to be planning to close the Park Avenue centre and move the service into the Town Hall, but users of the centre are keen to stay where they are.
Mrs Watson said:
“I will be writing to the council asking when they’re going to listen to these people, and recognise what a wonderful facility it is.
“No-one has spoken to them about what they want, and I will be taking up the cause on their behalf to say that they want to stay where they are.”
Mr Smith, who has used the Centre for over four years and has Parkinson’s disease, raised a wide range of issues with them, including food provision and transport. Many users use the bus stop outside, and there is good parking there.
Richard Boudier said:
“Aberystwyth Day Centre is a well loved local service, and service users should be consulted before any changes of this type are made. It has lovely natural light, while the proposed venue is in a basement with no windows.”
The centre offers a wide range of essential services including laundry, hairdressing, bathing, exercise, even offering religious services allowing people to take Holy Communion.
Much money has been spent modernising the building, with investment to improve the entrance and the kitchen.
The day centre won awards for being ‘fit for purpose’ when it opened in 1983, and the facility is used by a wide range of groups, including Arthritis Care and voluntary groups. They organise coffee mornings, including a major annual event.
