Running costs 'too high' at Asperger's centres

Two centres for young people with Asperger's Syndrome near Shrewsbury are being forced to close next year because of funding difficulties.

The Condover Hall site, which houses both centres, is owned by Priory Education Services, which opened a specialist residential and day school and similar college at the site in 2006.

But now the cost of keeping the facilities running has begun to stretch funds, and the group is planning to sell the hall and close both centres by the end of next July.

Caroline Walker, from Priory, said: "The maintenance and upkeep of the Condover estate, including a Grade I-listed building, is proving to be unsustainable.

"We are currently in consultation, but expect to close Condover Horizon School from the start of the spring term 2009 and Farleigh College Condover from the end of July 2009.

"The demand for placements is significantly below the number required to make them financially viable and we can't continue to invest in the schools in the way we had planned.

"It has become impossible to maintain without passing on cost to Local Authorities which we are not prepared to do and they would probably not want to take on."

The centres together take in pupils aged seven to 19 who have autistic spectrum disorder. Presently, there are 32 students across the two centres.