Fergushill Day Centre in Kilwinning will close in two years time as services get set to move to the new Red Cross House facility in Irvine.

The Kilwinning centre, which is home to 38 staff and offers support to about 90 people on a day-to-day basis has been deemed outdated and has been mooted for closure once the transfer to the Tarryholme Drive facility has been completed in 2019.

Red Cross House was taken over by the Council and the NHS in a joint bid and plans are in place for a state-of-the-art facility on the site of the former Options for Independence centre.

The council will also carry out a review of the current workforce.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership said: “Fergushill day services will be transferring to the former Red Cross House building at Tarryholme Drive in 2019.

“As the building is outdated and services will be moving to a refurbished facility, the Fergushill building will close thereafter.

“We are carrying out a workforce review of our staffing model to ensure we have the correct resources to continue to meet the needs of people who use our services and deliver our services to a high standard.”

Kilwinning SNP Councillor Scott Davidson said: “It is unfortunate that Day Care at Fergushill Day Centre, which has been serving residents across North Ayrshire for a number of years, is transferring to the former Red Cross House in Irvine.

“However it does appear that the Fergushill building is outdated with limited ability to expand services.

“North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership are of the opinion that the needs of our service users can be better met at the former Red Cross House and that is the most important consideration”

Tom Marshall, Conservative Group Leader on North Ayrshire Council added: “The Conservative Group welcomes the investment of some £5million in purchasing and upgrading the formed Red Cross Centre in Irvine.

“By doing this the Health and Social Care Partnership will be able provide a better range of devices in modern accommodation compared what is on offer at Fergushill.

“This will enable the development of a new Learning Disability Strategy and improve the range of services on offer. The HSCP will be able to develop alternative supportive ideas to provide greater community choice in a specially adapted building.

“It will also improve the range of community supported accommodation, better assist those with complex needs and will be the precursor for a roll out of more supported accommodation across the Council area.”

Red Cross House took over as the new proposed home for the new centre for people with disabilities after it became available and plans for a similar centre in Stevenston were withdrawn as the current building was already fit for purpose and will offer ‘cutting-edge’ services to the people of North Ayrshire.