A day centre for more than 50 people with learning difficulties has been earmarked for closure.

Avis Way Day Centre in Newhaven could be shut down in March as the first stage in a series of money-saving cuts to adult social services in East Sussex.

The county council said the move would save £212,000 a year, which would be reinvested in services for elderly residents.

East Sussex is trying to find savings of millions of pounds to meet a shortfall in the extra £8 million it needs to provide care for the elderly. East Sussex has the highest population of over-85s in Britain.

County councillor Bill Bentley, responsible for adult social care, said the cuts had been forced by the county's ageing population and the poor grant funding it was receiving from the Government.

Coun Bentley said: "It comes down to a simple choice between adapting the way we provide services or raising council tax, which is out of the question as this is a Conservative administration and has made clear it is against increasing tax."

The council's cabinet will vote on proposals to close Avis Way at County Hall in Lewes next Tuesday.

If the plan goes ahead, the 52 users of the centre, mostly aged between 30 and 60, will each take part in consultations to consider how best to provide for their needs.

Most will be offered alternative day care at the St Nicholas Centre in Lewes.

Some are expected to opt to make their own care arrangements using direct funding. The council has spent almost £55,000 this year transporting users to the Avis Way centre from their homes - £13,000 more than the budgeted amount.

If the users are transferred to Lewes the cost of transporting them will increase further. Keith Hinkley, the council's director of adult social care, said he was confident none of the users would see the quality of service diminish.

He said: "If we do go down this path of closure it will only be if it is good enough for those individuals involved."

Councils have been encouraged to consider closing day centres as a move away from traditional approaches to learning difficulties. Mr Hinkley said many younger people requiring care have already begun to choose alternatives. He said the closure may have taken place even if there were no financial pressures.

Mr Hinkley said that, where possible, Avis Way's 14 staff would be offered jobs elsewhere in the council. He said some redundancies were likely.

Union spokesman Tony Watson, from the East Sussex branch of Unison, said: "The staff there have done a lot of good work over a lot of years. They are understandably very anxious about these proposals."