• FURTHER to your report on Disability in Camden, DISC (Charity for disabled in switch to new base, February 21), the new centre opened on Monday without a bang.

Few of the original people involved were even present to watch the brief ceremony. Sadly it was taken over not by publicity experts and those who were potential users (with the exception of the learning difficulties – LD – community) but by council staff etc.

Squashing three groups of people with LD into one space has created unrest and some upset users. There are questions that need to be asked:

1. Where has the money from UCLH gone? The centre was donated a large amount nearly 19 years ago.

2. The ethos of the centre was, and should still be, a centre for the social model of disability (rather than medical), run by the disabled for the disabled. So why is Healthwatch so involved, and renting an office space?

3. The centre has a few great facilities, music and art rooms, etc. However as the day centres have sole use of them till 4pm and the other users from 4pm to 10pm one wonders how much they will be utilised by the disabled local community.

The location is up a back street, isolated, and you can feel vulnerable. Lack of accessible transport doesn’t help. Six allocated disabled parking bays are not nearly enough.

So who will use this new corporate-style glasshouse? And what about the cost of using the building for a class etc? Or is this the model the council wants, so it can close it down in four or five years’ time? Many of us are wondering.

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