Vulnerable, elderly people in their 80s and 90s have been left distressed and confused by a charity’s plan to close a village day centre.
Stafford and District Age Concern proposes to shut the doors of Gnosall’s Grosvenor Centre for five weeks from Monday.
And some of the day centre visitors have been left in tears by the news.
The charity has offered to bus the pensioners eight miles to their Stafford headquarters in Bradbury House.
Age Concern told the Advertiser the closure is necessary to update the services at the centre.
But villagers, backed by the parish council, fear the temporary closure could become permanent.
Councillor Graham Payne, chairman of the Grosvenor Centre committee, said he felt the move could spell the beginning of the end for the facility.
“The last thing we want to see is this facility going away,” he said.
“It is one of the last amenities we have for the elderly.
“I am deeply concerned that if it moves away for five weeks, it could lead to us having nothing at all.
“We have had no communication whatsoever. We have tried to contact Age Concern but can’t get hold of them, so we wait.”
The centre provides a daytime service for up to 16 elderly people, including the provision of a hot meal, on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Some visitors are collected and returned to their homes – some from outlying villages – by minibus.
More than 30 volunteers, relatives and parish councillors attended a meeting at the centre on Wednesday and agreed to launch an urgent protest to persuade the charity to change its mind.
They are petitioning their local MP Bill Cash, the county council’s social services department, and calling for a special meeting with Age Concern chiefs.
The protestors also plan to bring the protest to Age Concern’s annual meeting on Wednesday.
Age Concern Stafford & District Chief Executive Mrs Kath Trask reacted in disbelief to news of a protest, claiming that the centre’s users had long been aware of the closure.
“Yes, we are closing for five weeks, but it is to update the service for our clients and to ensure the future,” she said.
“There is no chance of the centre not re-opening - the re-launch date has been set for October 12.
“Another reason for giving our clients the opportunity to travel to Stafford was to introduce them to the vision of the future.
“We are updating the service to meet the needs of the younger and older people.
“We have been talking about this for months and we didn’t get a bad reaction when it was first brought up.
“We are just disappointed that we haven’t been given the chance to explain ourselves.”
Mrs Trask added that new services are planned to be introduced at Gnosall - including a drop-in benefit check scheme and new activities such as IT facilities.