Dundee City Council is being taken to court over the controversial closure of the Kemback Street Resource Centre.
Campaigners revealed that service users and their families have been granted legal aid for their bid to reverse the decision through a judicial review.
Councillors voted in October to close Kemback Street but the action group and senior politicians have strongly contested the council’s process of consultation in the run-up to the decision.
Instructing solicitor Sarah Smith of Thompsons solicitors in Glasgow confirmed the move, saying: “We will be lodging the petition as soon as possible. We have a highly supportive opinion in our favour.
“We consider that the council has very clear obligations under the Equality Act which they have failed to meet. The decision that they made to close the centre should be overturned.”
The Kemback Street Action Group is “delighted” its court case has been given the go-ahead.
George Stewart of the group said: “It’s wonderful news. It’s taken a while but we’re delighted with this.”
The campaigners had sought the advice of human rights QC Aidan O’Neill from Matrix Chambers in London, who rated their chances of success highly.
Mr Stewart said the Legal Aid Board’s decision, after considering Mr O’Neill’s opinion, vindicated the group’s actions.
“The council has not taken the proper channels of communication,” he said. “This just follows on from the Care Inspectorate’s ruling.
“The ultimate hope is that we will be able to save Kemback Street and take the distress out of the service users’ lives. Many of them have been very distressed by the thought of losing the service.”
Last month the Care Inspectorate’s report upheld the family members’ complaint that the service had failed to take appropriate action and “reasonable steps” to communicate the proposed changes properly.