Two day care centres have been formally wound up by Gwynedd Council.

The council had not offered the services at Y Ganolfan, Blaenau Ffestiniog or at Encil y Coed, Criccieth since the Covid pandemic.

According to the council, “challenges” faced as a result of Covid-19 had given it “an opportunity” to reconsider its day care provision and there had been “increasing reliance” on alternative community and home based support”.

There was now “less demand” for the more “traditional” types of day care services for adults, a meeting of the council’s cabinet heard on Wednesday.

Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing Cllr Dilwyn Morgan won agreement over a formal decision, that the “Adults, Health and Well-Being department should wind-up the use of Y Ganolfan, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Encil y Coed, Cricieth, to deliver their services”.

And to “support the department’s proposal to continue to collaborate with community groups and the third sector to support individuals in these areas in their homes and by using and supporting the development of alternative services within the communities”.

The Encil y Coed building at Criccieth is owned by Cyngor Gwynedd and home to the Criccieth Library. Y Ganolfan at Blaenau Ffestiniog is owned by a local community group.

Alternative support was also being offered, through a combination of health, domiciliary care services, dementia support service, specialist day care such as Blaenau Ffestiniog Health Centre and Hafod Hedd, Bryn Beryl, Dementia Actif weekly activities, sessions by the community hub Y Dref Werdd and Age Cymru.

The report noted Criccieth was managing to hold its own activities, and it “appears that there is not as much of a demand for a traditional day care provision”.

Work was also under way to look at how a provision or convenient information systems could be established.

In Blaenau Ffestiniog, following conversations locally, it was noted that Y Dref Werdd was offering social provision for residents and further discussions were to be held, including further collaboration with local enterprises.

Cllr Morgan said following meetings with the local member at Criccieth, residents had “favoured developing different services, instead of the traditional day centre activities that had been at Encil Y Coed and that work continues to move things forward”.

And at Blaenau, he said, “..the local member has a particular interest in the Ganolfan and we are looking to see how we as a council can work with the trustees to move things on in that building”.

He added that an impact assessment had been carried out and that both the Criccieth and Blaenau venues had ceased offering council day services for about five years.

Cllr Medwyn Hughes queried the strength of the third sector to provide additional services and asked about the impact on existing groups using the Criccieth centre.

Head of the Adults Health and Well-Being Aled Davies said that although he “couldn’t give any long term guarantees” he could say “with confidence we do have very good able and willing partners working with us, and we need to build on that.”