THE CLOSURE of a city council owned care home will be up for discussion next week, and councillors will also decide on services for people with learning disabilities.

Council bosses confirmed in June that Woolnough House was next in line for closure, following their plan of closing old and out-of-date council run care homes and reforming housing for older people in the city.

Next Thursday, the city council's executive will meet to discuss responses to a consultation about Woolnough House, and to decide whether to push ahead.

A report prepared for the meeting says the wider overhaul of older people's housing depends on the closure of the council homes like Woolnough, and delaying their closure would cost £15,300 a month.

At the same meeting, councillors will be asked to agree that staff can start looking for a company to run a day centre for adults with learning disabilities, to be built on the Burnholme Community College site.

A previous plan to create a new base at Burton Stone Community Centre has been shelved because the building was considered too much of a liability - and that site is now earmarked for new "extra care" sheltered housing.

If approved, the day base will be part of the new Burnholme health and wellbeing campus, where building work has already begun. The site, as a whole, will see more than £35 million of public and private sector investment and provide care, health, community and sports facilities.

The day base will have 30 places for adults with a learning disability, and will offer things like education, employment, independent living skills, over a full six hour day.

The executive will also consider the recommissioning of the short breaks service currently provided at Flaxman Avenue, once the current contract with Lifeways runs out in April next year.

Flaxman Avenue offers short breaks for adults, but the new contract could try to make the transition from the children's short break centre at The Glen easier by opening Flaxman Avenue up over 16s.