Ref. 75672-36BULLDOZERS could flatten buildings used to care for the elderly and disabled if a site near the town centre is sold off.

Swindon Council plans to close the Gerring Unit a daycare centre used by 360 elderly people by the end of March and transfer users to other facilities closer to their homes.

The decision paves the way for a new development at the site off Cricklade Road in Gorse Hill.

Other council-owned buildings on the four-acre Hawthorn site could face the axe.

These include the Clapham Hobbs Centre, which supports disabled people and the Elsie Millan Centre, which offers respite care.

The local authority has not ruled out selling off the land for housing, which has angered opponents who have accused it of trying to make a quick buck.

But Coun Ian Dobie, the lead member for social services, said any money made would be ploughed back into providing top quality services in the same field.

"Every penny will be reinvested to improve services," he said.

"We're an asset-rich council but we have to realise these assets to get money to reinvest."

Coun Dobie said the Gerring Unit, a former isolation hospital, would be the first to close, possibly at the end of March. But until a consultant has had time to assess the site, the future of the other buildings remains uncertain.

He said: "When I first visited this site it was quite clearly past its sell by date. I'm proud of what has been achieved with poor resources but I believe elderly and disabled people deserve better than this."

No one at Clapham Hobbs wanted to comment but pensioners who use the Gerring Unit are outraged.

Old friends fear they may never see each other again when the axe falls and don't want to leave a building which they say is full of memories.

Mary Pound, 73, of New Town, who attends the day centre twice a week, said: "I think it's wrong because it will cause such upheaval. I've got some lovely friends who I might not see again because we won't go to the same places together."

Bill Cole, 78, of Gay's Place, Upper Stratton, suffered a stroke in 1994. He said the friends he had met at the centre kept him going.

Everybody affected by the plan will be consulted and their needs assessed. Swindon Council said, when the centre closes, it would try to keep groups of friends together.

Ben Payne