Members of an out-of-hours mental health drop-in service are "shocked and disappointed" by Ealing Council’s decision to move them to a space "half its current size".
The Solace Centre was originally going to be closed by the council as part of a raft of measures to tackle a £96m blackhole in the borough’s budget.
Its existing base at council-owned Marron House, West Ealing, includes an office for clients to have counselling, communal facilities as well as a kitchen - where clients develop the cooking skills they need to manage themselves in the community - and a shower.
Ealing Council’s cabinet agreed on June 16 to continue providing an out-of-hours drop-in service for adults with mental health problems, but intends to move the service to alternative space in the building, which users say is not big enough.
After Solace moves, the plan is to developed the vacant space into two housing units for vulnerable young people.
Solace member and spokesman Gerald Crossley said council officers had "rushed through" a recommendation to the cabinet without identifying how the Solace service could be taken out of its purpose-built location and moved into a space half its current size.
He said: “The supporters of Solace were grateful when it was finally decided that the service was too valuable to close and that it should continue, but we need appropriate facilities for this to be possible.
“This relocation is within Marron House’s only communal area.
"This approval has been made with absolutely no consultation or transparency with Marron House Service users and staff or Solace service users and campaigners.”
But councillor Hitesh Tailor, cabinet member for health and adults services, said: “Keeping the service at Marron House makes logistical sense and is what members of the Solace Centre told us they wanted.
“There is a significant crossover in people who use both services and, having them in the same building, will be more efficient and effective.
“This proposal also allows for the creation of two extra housing units, saving money on expensive out-of-borough placements and providing more close-to-home housing for vulnerable residents. This all contributes towards the £96m in savings that we have to find.”
The space offered to Solace will include one communal area with garden access, already shared by its residential members.
The rest of Marron House is currently leased to a charity called London Cyrenians which provides supported housing for residents with serious mental health issues.
The council will begin discussions with users of the Solace Centre and Marron House residents so that the new service can be designed to meet their needs.
All cabinet decisions are subject to a call-in period of five working days from the date of publication of the minutes of the meeting.
