A Keynsham man has urged Bath and North East Somerset Council not to cut the “lifeline” respite care service his family relies on.

Richard and Julie Franklin were hit by a “massive shock” earlier this month when they were told by letter that the respite care service at Newton House in Bath, where their son Ryan Probert often stays for short breaks, would close at the end of January.

That closure was paused after Mr Franklin launched a petition which has now been signed by more than 1,800 people.

On Monday December 16, he told councillors on the council’s children, adults, health, and wellbeing scrutiny panel: “This home is a total lifeline that gives us just that little bit of time to enjoy that bit of freedom without any stress or any fuss or any worry. This situation has done nothing but cause stress and anxiety and worry to the both of us.

“Without the short breaks respite at Newton House, my son and many others will have to go into full time residential care at a much higher cost.”

Ryan is 28 and has an unbalanced translocation of chromosomes which means he is small, is non-verbal, and needs medication and a very high level of care. He said it had taken time to build trust with the home, but now the home can deal with Ryan’s needs.

Alison Born, the council’s cabinet member for adult services, emailed the family to say the closure of the home was paused while the needs of people using the home were reviewed and for alternative services to be identified. But Mr Franklin said the family had not yet been offered any other provision, and that Ryan had been reassessed just two weeks ago due to “a mess up on behalf of B&NES.”

Ms Born has been invited to speak to the committee about the issue at its next meeting in January. The vice chair of the council scrutiny panel Liz Hardman (Paulton, Labour) told Mr Franklin: “Thank you for making us aware of what was happening to your son, Ryan. It was your story that alerted us to what was happening because very few of us knew that Newton House was proposed to be closed as a respite centre.”

David Biddleston (Keynsham South, Labour), who accompanied Mr Franklin to the panel, said he was “shocked and disappointed that a decision could have been made without proper consultation.” He said: “The Labour group will continue to work very hard for the maintenance of this important provision.”

Newton House is run by care provider Dimensions. The letter sent to families announcing its closure, which was co-signed by both Dimensions and Bath and North East Somerset Council, said: “We understand how important it is for you and your family to be able to access short breaks. This is not a decision we wanted to take, and we did not take it lightly. But unfortunately, Newton House as a short breaks service has simply become unaffordable.”