A CARE home and a day service for elderly and disabled people will shut down, even though 10,000 people objected.

East Sussex County Council’s Conservative-controlled cabinet agreed to close day services at Warwick House in Seaford and the Firwood House care home in Eastbourne at a meeting on Tuesday.

The two services will be combined at another Eastbourne facility, Milton Grange, which will be expanded.

It comes as part of plans to slash £9.6m from the adult social care budget.

Carl Maynard, councillor in charge of adult social care and health, said the move would save £1 million.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Seaford South Carolyn Lambert criticised the “astonishing” decision, which comes just four years after the council spent £6.5m on Warwick House.

She said: “GPs actually objected to the last planning application, because they were deeply concerned about the impact of older people with persistent, chronic and complex health needs coming into the town. They felt they didn’t have sufficient resources to deal with that.”

And she added: “I find it really difficult to accept that there is not the demand out there”.

Cabinet members heard that more than 830 comments had been submitted as part of its consultation on the future of the three services.

A petition titled ‘Save Milton Grange and Firwood House’ gathered 10,080 signatures in a campaign led by Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne Stephen Lloyd.  In a letter, Mr Lloyd called for Eastbourne’s Conservative county councillors to resign if they approved the closure of Firwood House.

He said people’s health and wellbeing must come before before budget cuts.

After the meeting, three Conservative councillors representing Eastbourne – Barry Taylor, Colin Belsey and deputy leader David Elkin – responded by calling for Mr Lloyd to step down.

They said under the plans more older people would be cared for in their own homes at a lower cost, which was “good news for the taxpayer and for those in need of social care”.

And they accused Mr Lloyd of being “instrumental in starting the cuts the county council is now dealing with”.

The cuts will also hit East Sussex Stroke Recovery and HIV Support services.

Day services at the Charter Centre in Bexhill and the Isabel Blackman Centre in Hastings – are also to close as the council withdraws funding.

Carl Maynard, councillor in charge of adult social care and health, said: “We are making very, very difficult decisions that will affect people.

“Demand will continue to rise as our funding falls.”

Lib Dem group leader David Tutt said: “Local government is being starved of finance.

“The idea that we can still provide services to the vulnerable people in our society, the vital services that our communities need and demand, is highly questionable.”

Conservative council leader Keith Glazier said: “This is the least worst option.”