A PROGRESS report on St Albans residents who have been displaced from the Jubilee Centre has been called for by district councillors. They want to assure themselves that elderly and disabled people who have been using day-care services at the centre in Ca

A PROGRESS report on St Albans residents who have been displaced from the Jubilee Centre has been called for by district councillors.

They want to assure themselves that elderly and disabled people who have been using day-care services at the centre in Catherine Street, St Albans, have been comfortably settled elsewhere.

The call came from a meeting of St Albans health committee last week at which chairman, Cllr Aislinn Lee, passed on details of the current situation.

Herts County Council has provided day-care services at the Jubilee Centre for nearly 30 years but despite strong objections, they voted earlier this year to close the service.

They claimed that attendance had been falling significantly and the building was no longer suitable for disabled users.

But the closure prompted a storm of protest from carers of the users of the service because it would mean breaking up strong friendship groups and it was regarded as a safe place to leave their loved ones giving them some respite from caring.

The county council is proposing to move some users to Vesta Lodge and the Butterwick Day Service, both in St Albans, and the Greenhills Centre in Hemel Hempstead.

Direct payments have also been offered to users who might not want to continue with the services provided.

It will be two to three months before a new day service at Vesta Lodge comes on stream as some minor building works are having to be carried out. Staff from the Jubilee Centre have agreed to help out during the transition to Vesta Lodge which is run by Quantum Care.

Most of the existing Jubilee Centre staff will be transferring to Butterwick and Greenhills and those who are due to retire this year have agreed to help settle in users.

The adult care services department at County Hall has agreed to keep the Jubilee Centre open until everyone has been transferred. As the lease for the building has expired, they have entered into a temporary arrangement with the district council as its owners.

Cllr Lee said they were asking for a report so they could see for themselves that people had settled in all right, were receiving the same number of hours as before and that sufficient transport was in place.