Powys Council 'didn't cut funding for Welshpool day centre'

When he announced that the day centre was to shut, Welshpool mayor Steve Kaye said the centre had become financially unsustainable without additional funding.

But Powys Council has now said that it has not withdrawn cash from the centre, and that it had not been consulted on the closure – but praised the town council's efforts to run the centre for the last 15 years.

Senior figures at Powys have also said they intend to continue to provide support for older people in Welshpool.

Head of commissioning Dylan Owen said: “We had a written agreement to pay for 15 places at the day centre. The county council continued this throughout the pandemic to help the town council provide alternative provision and we had no plans to change this.”

Former Welshpool councillor Ann Holloway.

During the pandemic, the staff from the day centre have been providing services to service users at home, and others in the community – such as the provision of meals.

Mr Owen added: “Social workers from the county council will be making contact with the centre's service users to discuss how the council can support them in the future. Our priority right now is to ensure that those service users continue to receive the care and support that they need.

“Welshpool Town Council did not consult with Powys County Council on the town council's decision to close.

“However, we'd like to thank the town council and their staff for their service to the people of Welshpool and surrounding areas over recent years. Their work has been a fitting tribute to the memory of the late county councillor Ann Holloway.”

Cabinet member for adult social care, Councillor Myfanwy Alexander, added: “Powys County Council was not responsible for the decision to close the Ann Holloway Day Care Centre but we have an absolute commitment to provide services to older people in Welshpool and we will be fulfilling this by working with a range of partners to achieve this.”