The Bertha James Day Centre will close this Friday, in a move that has been lashed by Labour councillors as Bromley Council states it is “pro-actively sourcing alternative arrangements” for users of the facility.

Bromley Councillors received a letter over the weekend from the Trustees of Age Concern Ravensbourne who manage the Bertha James Day Centre, stating that unless a £73k cash injection previously promised by the council was made  available immediately, the centre would be forced to close by Friday, March 13.

However, council’s plans for payment would see the ex gratia funding provided quarterly, with the first payment to come April 1, which would see the centre’s rent covered for the year in a bid to help the centre wind-down “gracefully”.

But to ensure enough funding remains to provide necessary payments to staff, the centre has made the decision to wind down operations immediately.

It was a move lashed by Labour, with party leader Cllr Angela Wilkins saying the situation was “appalling”.

“At the very end of the last meeting of the Adult Care and Health committee, when members were packing up, we were unexpectedly informed that Bertha James Centre had considerable financial difficulties and would be facing immediate closure unless the council provided £73k,” she said.

“The committee was told that the money would be provided and that the centre would be able to stay open until December 2020.”

She said she was “horrified” to learn the money had not yet been paid, and called on council leader Colin Smith to “cough up” the lump sum as well as urging a “full and proper review” of the situation.

“Changes may be necessary, but closure of the centre is final and removes both options for users and respite opportunities for carers,” she said.

“Having met recently with the management of BJC, I am also aware that it is largely the way the council has treated the centre financially that is responsible for the money problems they now face.

“The council must not be allowed to just sweep this under the carpet.”

In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, Bromley’s executive councillor for adult services and health Diane Smith said the closure “comes as very sad news for all of us”, and laid the blame at rising staff costs and falling centre use.

“The use of day centres has been declining for some time and we know there are vacancies in other very good centres elsewhere in the Borough which will warmly welcome those affected,” she said.

“Regrettably, as even a cursory inspection of the centre’s annual reports running back to 2011 clearly shows, incrementally rising staff costs over time in an age of quite striking falling demand in its client base, as more and more residents choose Direct Payments to select their own choice of provider, has driven the Trustees to make this desperate decision instead.”

She added the short notice was “particularly disappointing” given the support the council has given the centre since last summer.

“This included launching a promising bid application which held the potential to secure the centre’s long term future, building on from the rent holiday the council has provided for two and a half of the past three years and a pre-advised ex gratia payment to cover the rent for 2020/21, in a final effort to provide the centre with further time to work through a necessary new business plan,” she said.

“Users and their families can rest assured that the council’s adult care team has been working flat out since first thing Monday morning to ensure the transition and transfer period that follows, works as speedily, seamlessly and amicably for the centre’s clients as it possibly can, and that process is already well underway.”

The move is expected to leave 21 staff redundant, while volunteers will move to seek to assist other charities.