Council leaders to reconsider Eastbourne day centre closure

On Tuesday (May 20), East Sussex County Council debated a call-in request connected to the closure of Linden Court — a day service for people with learning disabilities.

It’s closure had been among 11 savings proposals agreed by the council’s cabinet in February, which are expected to collectively cut £3.994 million from the authority’s adult social care budget for 2025/26.

But, in March, the proposal was “called in” for further debate as a result of the decision by the council’s People Scrutiny Committee, which took the view cabinet councillors had not fully considered what impact the closure would have on districts and borough councils.

As the debate began, Liberal Democrat group leader David Tutt proposed an amendment, which reframed the call-in request to include new grounds. These related to work of a campaign group formed of family members of Linden Court’s service users.

Evidence from this group, Cllr Tutt told councillors, suggested the “true costs” associated with closing Linden Court may be greater than the council had first thought and could be even greater than the savings the closure could potentially generate.

Cllr Tutt said: “What I am asking for in essence here is that we don’t ignore that good work that has been done by the families. We press the pause button, just for long enough for the cabinet and the officers to meet with the families to understand the data that they have gathered and to understand the true cost of this decision.

“If they are correct and the cost is greater in terms of closures and keeping the facility open, wouldn’t East Sussex County Council be embarrassed? Because nobody is pretending this closure is for the good of the users. It is purely a financial consideration.”

Cllr Tutt said the campaign group’s evidence included a survey of the service users’ families. This survey, Cllr Tutt said, reported how 10 out of the 25 families set to be affected had either begun the process or were now considering moving their family members into full time residential care.

Cllr Tutt argued the cabinet members needed to consider the costs associated with this increase in residential care as part of its decision.

The amendment proposed by Cllr Tutt initially saw resistance from members of the Conservative group, with council leader Keith Glazier and lead member for adult social care Carl Maynard both arguing the discussions and considerations it asked for were already underway.

But, after further debate, Conservatives ended up supporting the amendment, ensuring it was voted through unanimously by the whole council chamber.

As a result of the unanimous vote, the matter is set to be referred back to cabinet members for a final decision.

The full proposal, as it was agreed in February, involves the closure of Linden Court and its merger with the Beeching Park day service in Bexhill. The council has previously said the measure will result in full-year savings of £327,000.