CAMPAIGNERS have spoken of their devastation that a popular care home and day centre is to shut.

Bradford Council's executive has announced the closure of Harbourne House in Wibsey, which offers residential and respite care for older people with dementia and has a day centre run by Bradford District Care Trust.

Council bosses say the building is outdated, with no en-suite facilities, and that closing it will save £319,000 a year as well as avoiding a £222,000 maintenance backlog.

But centre users and their families had fought an impassioned campaign to save the centre, gathering a 1,800-name petition.

One of the campaigners who fought to save the home is David Thomas, who cares for his wife Marcia at their home in Oakenshaw.

He said: "I'm disappointed that we did lose, for all the people that go there and their staff.

"At the end of the day we put up a good fight against the council, but we lost, so now we have just got to carry on and make the best of whatever else we can get."

The decision to close Harbourne was taken at a meeting of the council's executive today.

Mr Thomas spoke at the meeting, saying the service at Harbourne was a "lifeline" to them.

And fellow campaigner Brian Keeling, a full-time carer for his mother Muriel, praised the dedication and experience of its staff.

He told the meeting that people with dementia would find the disruption very difficult, and added that dementia itself was a growing problem.

He said: "This is not going to go away. There is no cure out there."

Veronica King, of the Alzheimer's Society, asked the executive to delay a decision and carry out a longer consultation.

Janice Simpson, Bradford Council's strategic director for adult services, said the authority was experienced in moving vulnerable people from one facility to another.

She said: "I don't underestimate the difficulty in that change, but if it is managed well, it can be done well and people can settle in other, different accommodation."

Councillor Andrew Thornton, executive member for the environment, said: "There is no doubt about the dedication for the staff there or the quality of care that is provided.

"The issue for me is the physical environment and the physical accommodation that really is no longer up to scratch."

The executive decided unanimously to close the home. The meeting heard that alternative services would be provided at Norman Lodge in Odsal and Woodward Court in Allerton.