Users of the closure-threatened Solace Mental Health Centre in Ealing may be offered a lifeline.

Ealing Council’s cabinet will meet on Tuesday (March 24) to consider proposals that would see an out-of-hours drop-in service continue at the centre in Bowmans Close, West Ealing.

The council has been considering closing it as part of a raft of measures to tackle a £96m blackhole in the borough’s budget.

Under the proposals, users would have been given personal budgets to buy alternative support services once the centre shut.

The council has launched a consultation of users, staff and people affected by the proposed closure, and had asked voluntary sector groups to come forward with ways to deliver the service which would not cost the council.

There has been considerable interest from voluntary sector groups who have put forward a number of credible alternatives, all of which now need further evaluation.

Labour councillor Hitesh Tailor, cabinet member for health and adults services, said: “I will be making the case very strongly at cabinet for the council to continue funding the Solace Centre in the short-term, while we secure the long-term future of the service in Ealing.

“Users have put forward some strong arguments for why a drop-in service should continue and I’m pleased so many local voluntary groups have come forward with their ideas on how we can make this happen together.”

His Conservative opposite number, Councillor Mark Reen, said: “Given that the Labour Cabinet Member originally supported the idea of closing the centre, how much pressure does he plan to put on his colleagues?

“The users and the families have been instrumental in running an effective campaign against the closure of the centre. A fight that needn’t have taken place in the first instance if the Labour Council was looking out for residents instead of themselves.”

The meeting on Tuesday will evaluate proposals to maintain an out of hours service at the centre, while further work is undertaken on how the service can be sustained in the long term.

Suggestions on how Solace can continue include having an external group run the drop-in service from the Solace building; using the building more efficiently; finding another space for the centre to use so the existing building can be turned into flats for people with mental health problems.

The Solace Centre operates out of a council-owned building all year and is jointly funded by Ealing Council and the West London Mental Health Trust.