THURROCK Council officers and a senior leading local councillor have been slammed for concocting 'a pack of lies' to support their plans to shut down day care centres for the borough's older people!

Nub News recently exclusively revealed plans by the council to close day centres at Kynoch Court in Stanford-le-Hope and Bell House in South Ockendon.

On Thursday (17 June) members of the council's health and well-being overview and committee received a presentation from the corporate director of adults, housing and health, Ian Wake, which sought to justify the plans.

Both he, and the portfolio holder for adult social care, Cllr Deb Huelin, chose to use the opportunity to criticise the media - and by default Nub News - for inaccurately reporting the council's plans and creating concern and fear by misrepresenting 'the facts'.

It now transpires that the facts and history included in Mr Wake's report are actually wrong!

Residents at Kynoch Court, which is a sheltered housing complex, were portrayed as wanting to drive out the day centre visitors and that they were unhappy at having to share communal facilities.

However, those residents have contacted Thurrock Nub News to say the council's report is a gross misrepresentation of the facts - and a petition has been launched calling on the authority to revisit its plans.

Mr Wake's presentation was included in our report of the meeting which can be viewed here and the following day Cllr Huelin pitched in with her assessment of the situation.

The report has angered residents of Kynoch Court who issued the following statement: "The residents of Kynoch Court would like to address some of the points made by Cllr Deb Huelin regarding the closure of daycare at Kynoch Court.

"Basically, it is a pack of lies and we are totally appalled that we have been portrayed as selfish unfeeling people!

"We do have a coffee club which meets twice a week but this does not include daycare, which hasn't been done for over a year due to covid!

"We have our own residents lounge and kitchen, which the council know as it is used as a polling station!

"Daycare is situated in a completely separate, self-contained space in another part of the building! This was never a social space for the residents, in fact before it was converted for daycare some 20 years ago, it was a guest flat.

"We function completely independently of daycare, but we do invite them to attend some of our functions as they do us when they have something going on there.

"As far as we are aware no one has ever stated they did not want daycare here, if they did, we can assure you it is not the majority view! In our opinion, the staff in daycare are some of the most caring people you could ever meet, caring not only for their clients but their families too.

"Aged people and those with dementia have to have continuity and don't like change, they enjoy coming here and we enjoy seeing them, we have got to know some very special people over the years.

"We are totally against the closure of this facility and cannot express strongly enough our disappointment and disgust for Thurrock Council."

In addition to this absolute condemnation of the council, a petition has been launched calling for residents to express and record their concern about the council's action.