Tangley Hall closure - Council spends £169,000 to save £134,000 (Twickenham & Richmond Liberal Democrats)

Tangley Hall closure - Council spends £169,000 to save £134,000

March 13, 2011 10:27 AM

• [Feb 18]: STARTLING figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats show that Conservative-run Richmond Council will spend more money next year closing Tangley Hall day centre than it would cost to keep it open. The Council plans to spend £169,000 on works to Ham Day centre next year to accommodate dementia sufferers being forced out of Tangley Hall, whilst the closure of Tangley Hall will save just £134,000.

The works being planned in Ham include £60,000 for new windows and £109,000 to bring the facilities up to the required standards, including a sensory garden. The closure of Tangley Hall will save just £134,000. It is also expected that the closure will lead to thousands of pounds of extra transport costs to take users to the Ham centre. These startling figures come as councillors prepare for an extraordinary council meeting on 1^st March, called by Liberal Democrat councillors, to challenge the Conservatives' controversial decision to close this intensive day centre for older people with dementia.

Cllr Stephen Knight, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Opposition, said: "The extra works needed at Ham mean that the closure of Tangley Hall day centre, far from saving money, will actually cost local taxpayers more next year than keeping it open. The Conservatives must now stop and think again. Even without the cost of doing up Ham day centre, the Council is to receive an extra £3.5 million from government for social care over the next two years, which it has yet to allocate. On top of that money, the Conservatives have just also found an extra £3.25 million to fund their new priorities next year, so to claim they have no choice but to close Tangley is clearly nonsense. We hope that members of the public will turn up on the evening of the council meeting to show their opposition to the closure and to send the council a loud message."

• The fight to save dementia centre Tangley Hall from closure has ended in failure [RTT 7th March]

• Revealed: The Conservative councillors who voted FOR Tangley Hall closure despite concerns [RTT Mar 13]