Pembroke dock’s anchorage day centre to close on November 1

Pembroke Dock’s Anchorage day centre will close in less than a month, after a final decision was backed by senior councillors today, October 3.
Last week, on September 23, a successful ‘call-in’ by Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy at an extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s social care overview and scrutiny committee, was supported by fellow group members.
The county council is currently changing care provision for older adults and those with learning disabilities, with identified budget saving included in the 2024-’25 budget, and closure of Pembroke Dock’s Anchorage day care centre was agreed by senior councillors at the September 9 meeting of the council’s Cabinet, despite an earlier petition and impassioned pleas to keep it open.
At an earlier full council meeting a plea by local councillors Tony Wilcox and Brian Hall to give the Anchorage a breathing space ahead of a potential service move to an as-yet-unbuilt facility at Pembroke’s South Quay development, expected to open in 2026.
The November 1 Anchorage closure was backed along with wider changes in the service; establishing social enterprise models in Crymych’s Bro Preseli and Narberth’s Lee Davies Centre with effect from April 1 of next year.
The anchorage building is council owned while the other two are not.
After that Cabinet decision, the later ‘call-in’ asked for the decision to be referred back to Cabinet for further discussion on the social enterprise model, with a potential piloting in Bro Preseli, along with what bridging options could be considered for the Anchorage while awaiting the South Quay development.
A report at Thursday’s special Cabinet meeting of October 3, presented by Cllr Tessa Hodgson, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Safeguarding, said, in relation to the first part of the ‘call-in’: “The Day Centre provision in Crymych and Narberth will remain open under current SLAs until March 31, 2025. A social enterprise will be supported to engage with the local community, service users, their families, and other stakeholders to develop and pilot alternative models of delivery.”
In relation to the Anchorage, it said: “The South Quay development will open in 2026, providing a co-located and integrated health and care setting, with further day opportunities and supported employment options for local residents.
“The Anchorage is open four days a week, providing services from the base 3.5 days with people attending alternative settings on a Friday. With regards to bridging alterations, the Cabinet report on September 9 set out a number of alternatives to attendance at the Anchorage.
“All of these alternatives constitute bridging options for those that wish to attend South Quay from 2026 onwards.”
Those alternatives include day opportunities at the Meadow Park Centre, Community-based activities in the Pembroke Dock Community Hall, and community-based activities at the VC Gallery, Pembroke Dock, the report added.
Members heard the anchorage day centre needed a new ceiling, roof, fire doors and electrics, which would cost some £500,000 to completely refurbish, or £295,000 to bring it up to standard to remain open for two years before the South Quay development was ready, with fears that rate could be even higher.
The council will be exiting service level agreements with the Bro Preseli Day Centre in Crymych and the Lee Davies Day Centre in Narberth and as one of many alternatives, will be working in partnership to promote social enterprise alternatives. Work is now underway to establish a suitable pilot which will see further strengthening of links between PCC and the Third Sector.
Cabinet members backed the recommendation to close the Anchorage Day Centre with effect from November 1 and establish social enterprise models in Bro Preseli and Lee Davies Day Centres from April 1 of next year.
Cllr Hodgson, who moved the recommendation, later said: “In Pembrokeshire, we want older people and people with disabilities to live a life well lived, with things to do that provide purpose, connection and where appropriate, progression.
“The recent overview and scrutiny committee gave the opportunity to further explain our direction of travel, as we strive to shape a choice of different day opportunities in the context of significant financial pressures. We have and will continue to balance the needs of people attending day centres and their families with the requirement for change, and we will continue to support all affected as we go through this process.
“We have worked hard to identify alternative and suitable provision for all service users and am pleased that despite financial pressures, we are able to maintain a direct bus service from the Anchorage premises to Meadowpark.
“I wish to emphasise that no-one will be left without provision following the decision here today and we will continue to work closely with everyone to ensure positive outcomes for all.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​