Seven famous faces have called on council chiefs to spare a Shrewsbury day centre for disabled adults from the axe – claiming its value to the community is ‘immeasurable’.
Nicky Clark, from Copthorne, launched the campaign to save The Grange day centre in Harlescott after Shropshire Council announced it was considering closing it as part of ongoing budget cuts.
And now the fight has received backing from comedians Stewart Lee and David Baddiel, television presenters Sue Perkins and Hardeep Singh Kohli, actresses Lucy Porter and Suzy Kane, and journalist Tony Parsons.
In an open letter to the council, the celebrities have joined Mrs Clark to urge officials to rethink their decision to close the only day centre of its kind in Shropshire.
It states: “It may cost £200,000 a year to run but its value in terms of the service users and their families and carers is immeasurable.
“As a society we must be judged on how we treat our most vulnerable members. We stand beside the service users in calling for this vital day centre to be saved.”
Mrs Clark, the mother of two disabled daughters, told the Chronicle she had approached the celebrities independently for their support and all seven had agreed to back the campaign.
And last Thursday, she addressed a meeting of the full council to draw attention to the right of disabled people to live in the community with choices equal to others, as laid out in Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
But councillors voted overwhelmingly to proceed with the closure – despite a 1,250 name petition.
Speaking at the meeting, council leader, Keith Barrow, said: “Social care is about people, not places, and although I appreciate staff at The Grange do a fantastic job, the building itself is an industrial unit and not a particularly pleasant place to be. By offering people alternatives at more suitable locations, and the choice to spend their own budgets, we are providing a more flexible and appropriate level of care.”
by Charlotte Hester