COUNCIL chiefs have defended the controversial closure of a York day care centre for adults with learning disabilities.

They said Yearsley Bridge was "old and not in the best condition for delivering the type of support that customers need," and claimed that customers would end up with increased opportunities and choice.

The Press reported on Saturday how the mother and grandmother of a brain-damaged 21-year-old woman, Toni Wilson, were livid after discovering that the centre in Huntington Road was to shut down.

They said Toni, 21, of Bishopthorpe, "absolutely loved it" at Yearsley, and spoke of their concerns about what would happen to her when it shut. They also claimed that when they asked in the summer about closure rumours, just before Toni started going there, they were told there was "nothing in the pipeline for a few years."

Now City of York Council has explained the reasons behind the decision to shut down the centre, which has been providing day care for some of York's most vulnerable adults for 25 years and is attended by 73 people each week with a diverse range of needs.

A spokeswoman said today the closure and re-provision of services to people who currently use Yearsley was the next step in the modernisation of all of the authority's day care services.

"It follows the closure of Hebden Rise and it should be pointed out that feedback that we have received from customers who used to go there, but are now receiving a variety of different forms of support within the community, is very positive," she said.

"Yearsley Bridge is old and not in the best condition for delivering the type of support that customers need. We hope that the review of people's needs will increase the range of opportunities and element of choice available to our customers and see it as a positive step towards providing modern services that are best suited to their needs. This approach is in line with government thinking.

"Each customer has an individual programme designed to suit their needs and that is one of the main reasons why modernisation is necessary."

She said a report outlining the proposed modernisation of day care services report had been agreed by the Executive Member for Adult Social Services and Health and Advisory Panel (EMAP) on January 30, and it had also been referred to in reports to executive meetings last December and in July.

Asked about claims by Toni's relatives that they had not been informed what was going on, the spokeswoman said: "Letters have been sent to all of those affected by the modernisation plans and a series of meetings are planned for the coming months."