£12m day centre for adults with learning disabilities set to open next year in Lambeth

A new £12m day centre with flats for adults with learning disabilities could be open next year, writes local government correspondent Bridie Whitton.

Confirmation of the creation of the centre in Coburg Crescent, Lambeth from November 2020 follows fears “for the future of the project in the current economic climate,” a council report said.

Building the centre was in the Labour administration’s 2018 manifesto.

The new 13 long-term flats and four short-term flats are expected to save the council around £623,800 per year, while the authority also expects to make money from a cafe and an improved shop at the centre, a council report said.

It will include “very specialised health and social care” and mean people with severe disabilities can continue to live on-site, meaning the council will spend less on placements.

The scheme will have two, two-bed flats for two people with high support needs with a live-in carer.
It will also have two two-bed flats for four people, and one three-bed flat for three people with moderate support needs.

“These service users will generate the greatest amount of savings and reduce the risks associated with providing support for only clients with complex support needs,” the report said.

The responsibility for the management and maintenance of the day centre is yet to be decided, the report said.

The scheme is yet to be granted planning permission, but construction is expected to begin from October.