New centre for learning disabled

A new £1m specialist centre for people with learning disabilities is to be built in Wiltshire.

Users will be given intensive help to manage their behaviour, with a view to moving them towards more independent care in the future.

The 24-hour facility is being funded jointly by the county council and The Development Trust. The centre is expected to house six full-time residents for set periods of between two and five years.

Councillor John Thomson, joint cabinet member for community services, said: "By building such a unit we will try, wherever possible, to maintain people in their own county and in the medium term within their own community. This will make a significant difference to the lives of the users and their families."

It has not been decided where in Wiltshire the unit will be located, but it is hoped it will be fully operational within two years.