PENSIONERS in west Oxfordshire have joined the fight against the prospect of county council changes to their day centres and services.

Some of the centres rely heavily on funding from the council, which is reviewing its services for OAPs.

County Hall, which will spend £440,000 this financial year to subsidise the day centres, will not say what changes it is considering.

There is growing concern that grants will be slashed as the council aims to make £200m of savings over the next five years.

The Highlands Day Centre, in Burford Road, Chipping Norton, provides a cooked lunch and somewhere to meet for 60 elderly people.

The county council currently subsidise its running costs with a grant of £30,000 a year.

Users fear that if the funding is axed, members’ fees would increase or that the 17-year-old centre would fold.

Co-ordinator Caroline Hickling said: “We’re hoping that the county council will still give us a grant but it doesn’t look too good.

“At the moment we charge £6.50 a day, but this might have to go up to £15 a day and some of them come three times a week and they just can’t afford that.”

Trustee Jenny Timmis, who first took her mother to the centre seven years ago, said: “We wish to keep Highlands running and we’re looking for possible funding.”

The committee wants to find a new chairman, treasurer and trustees, in the hope that they will bring fresh ideas.

Trustee Peter Barbour said: “We think it’s a very worthwhile project. It has money but not enough to operate as before.

“We need to have a good committee to get as much money as we can from Oxfordshire County Council.”

Anyone who may be able to help should call the day centre on 01608 643320.

The existing contract with the county council runs until next March and decisions about its future have to be set in motion by September.

Council spokesman Marcus Mabberley said: “We’re seeking to modernise our day services across the county, including in west Oxfordshire, to give more people greater choice in the way they’re able to access support.

“Day services will be preserved and the aim is to deliver better outcomes tailored to individual need and in a style that is most suited to lives in the second decade of the 21st century.”

He added: “The proposals are at a stage where it is too early to say how any possible outcomes may change services provided at day centres in west Oxfordshire.”

Further reforms, due to be introduced in the autumn, will mean pensioners are given their own budget to spend on their own care services.

Eynsham Day Centre, which meets once a week and has 24 members, receives funding of £8,000 from the county council.

Co-ordinator Ruth Gould, who also runs Charlbury Day Centre, said: “I’m sure the funding will be cut.

“We can only put our prices up by so much.

“I would worry if we got to the stage that any of the day centres would have to close because of the cuts.”

Pensioners in Didcot and Bicester have already launched campaigns to protect their day centres and more than 1,000 people across the county have signed protest petitions so far.

The council has also proposed allowing other charities and organisations to manage day centres which it runs.