Meeting over bid to revive day centre

The meeting will discuss the future of the Anne Holloway Day Centre in Welshpool, and takes place at 7.30pm at the Royal Oak in the town tomorrow.

The meeting has been called by Welshpool Community Haven, which is led by a group of parents who have children with specialist needs.

They are calling for the day centre to be used as a hub providing help and support for the elderly, disabled, carers, and those with additional needs.

Laura Hares, Dylan Thomas and Hayley Pugh said they have been meeting weekly at The Royal Oak over the past 12 months and sharing the challenges of facing disabilities and accessing care support.

They formed Welshpool Community Haven group and believe the centre, closed last year to save costs, would make an ideal hub for a whole range of organisations and individuals.

Laura, who has an autistic seven-year-old son and herself has EDS (Ehlers-Danlos syndromes), a group of rare inherited debilitating conditions that mean she uses a mobility scooter, said: “It is about uniting the whole community and being inclusive, so that those who face a range of challenges don’t feel left out of society. There are people in this town really struggling and having a focus like this would make a difference."

She added: “There is a great deal of interest in the meeting and our hope is that other charities would be interested and see the centre as a central hub for all the community to access and receive support.

“It could meet educational requirements and improve the quality of people’s lives. It would bring people together, help to combat loneliness in the community and provide a vital social and care network.”

Hayley said: "There is often a lack of service support and we believe it could be cost effective to use the centre as a sort of one-stop shop to meet a range of needs under one roof."

Tea and coffee will be served at the meeting, which is in the Royal Oak’s function room.