Glasgow East End Community Carers has asked the city council for permission to build the centre at its home on Penston Road in Queenslie.
A statement submitted with the application reveals the charity has been in talks with the council’s social work department about the “need for additional respite capacity for children in Glasgow.”
It states there is only one such facility in the city currently, The Mallard, on Morrin Street. That centre, in Springburn, provides respite breaks for young people between five and 21 with additional or complex needs, and includes a sensory room, art and craft area and large garden.
The statement from Glasgow East End Community Carers adds due to a “lack of suitable facilities within the Glasgow city area”, children are “currently being accommodated in other local authority areas, which means additional expense for the families should they be called to the centre at time of crisis”.
“As a social care provider as well as being a carers’ centre, supporting unpaid carers in the east end of Glasgow, we recognise the problems caused by this lack of suitable respite accommodation, and the impact that it has on the families that we support,” the charity states.
“We also understand that Glasgow City Council does not currently have adequate funding to construct and run such facilities, so we as a charity have decided, after consultation with social work, that we should look to create a centre at our premises, which already has upgraded sports facilities on site that the children can have access to.”
Plans show the centre would be built on vacant land at the organisation’s current Penston Road premises. They propose 16 car parking spaces.
The charity, which has been supporting carers since 1991, has a carers hub as well as a homecare service. The hub has a cafe space, a large activity room and seating to give carers a “few hours away from home in a welcoming comfortable space.”
Workers can also offer information and advice on issues such as benefits and other support services.