'Respite centre should not close'.

A CALL for urgent talks to prevent the closure of a respite care centre for people with mental and physical disabilities was made today.

The plea came ahead of a meeting on the future of another closure-threatened home for people suffering from dementia.

The plight of the Jane Hodge Respite Centre, in Cowbridge, and uncertainty about the future of the Bryneithin residential care home, in Dinas Powys, have sparked concerns about the care of some of the most vulnerable people in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Livability, which runs the Jane Hodge Respite Centre said an extensive review had concluded that "the lack of demand for buildings-based respite for disabled people now makes this service unfeasible".

The centre is due to close on January 10 with the loss of 90 full and part-time jobs.

Vale of Glamorgan-based Plaid Cymru AM, Chris Franks, has written to Livability calling for talks on ways of averting closure.

He said: "This is a very disappointing announcement for those working at the centre but also those who rely on the care they receive there. Constituents have raised their fears with me that there is nothing similar in South Wales for severely mentally and physically handicapped people."

Raymond Griffin, whose 76-year-old wife, Joyce received twice-weekly therapy at the centre's swimming pool, said: "It is beyond all belief that they are closing it. It caters for so many people of all ages and disabilities."

Meanwhile, the Vale council's social care and health scrutiny committee was this evening due to set out a three-month programme of public consultation on the future of Bryneithin. Relatives of residents at the home have pledged to fight any plans to close it.