Dundee City Council is planning to carry out a fresh consultation for users of the Kemback Street Adult Resource Centre.
Social Work convener Ken Lynn confirmed that a report going before the social work and health committee on February 25 will recommend councillors approve a new consultation on the centre that was earmarked for closure.
The move comes just days after campaigners opposed to the closure announced Dundee City Council was being taken to court, as legal aid had been granted for a bid to reverse the decision through a judicial review.
Mr Lynn said: “To avoid any uncertainty that a prolonged legal procedure would inevitably mean for service users and their families, I am proposing that the social work and health committee agrees to carry out a new consultation about the future of Kemback Street adult resource centre. In the meantime, the centre will remain open.”
The recommendation for fresh consultation laid out in the report is in response to a complaint made to the Care Inspectorate by the carer of one of the service users in October.
An investigation was carried out, and the Care Inspectorate upheld the complaint with one requirement that the council must “take reasonable steps to ensure adequate and appropriate communication methods are used in relation to future changes in services.”
It said information must be provided in a timely manner in a format that all individuals involved can freely and easily access.
The social work department responded with an action plan that included such steps as creating an easy to read document and involving support groups such as Independent Advocates and Psychology.
If the proposal is agreed, a report will be presented to the committee on March 25 regarding the proposed consultation procedure.
Commenting on the development, George Stewart of the Kemback Street Action Group said: “I’m sure that once the solicitors have been contacted they will make our position clear.”
MSP Jenny Marra said the council’s proposal was an admission that they had not carried out a proper consultation in the first place.
She said: “The SNP have finally admitted today that they’ve completely messed up their proposal to close Kemback Street. It is a shame that it takes legal action for them to listen.
“The Kemback Street families will have their day in court and if the SNP have breached their legal duties to the Kemback Street families they will have to answer to the law.”