A SECOND public meeting will take place tonight as the fight to save a closure-threatened Wirral respite care centre intensifies.

Held at St Mary's Church Centre in Saughall Massie Road, Upton it will be a chance to air views on the proposed closure of nearby Girtrell Court.

Organised by trade union Wirral Unison it starts at 6.30pm.

Girtrell Court's potential closure was part of a raft of measures proposed in £28m budget cuts package that came before Wirral Council's ruling cabinet on Monday.

Dozens of protestors packed inside the meeting at Wallasey town hall and many expected to hear that the centre was to close its doors.

But its future hangs in the balance after councillors agreed no final decision will be made on the home's future until an ongoing consultation with families, staff and those who use Girtrell Court has ended.

The centre caters for people with complex mental and physical disabilities.

The authority says the 120 families who use the facility could be catered for in the private sector.

Its threatened closure would save the authority an estimated £155,000.

The proposal is currently the subject of a ongoing public consultation exercise.

The final decision will then be made by Wirral's director of adult social care, Graham Hodkinson and Chris Jones, cabinet nember for adult care and public health.

In a statement ahead of tonight's meeting, Wirral Unison said: “The meeting is for those who use the service, who work there, or are interested in saving this valuable service.

"We are concerned at the proposal of Cabinet to delegate the decision on the future of Girtrell Court to the Director of adult social services in conjunction with the cabinet lead.

"We believe that such an important decision should be made by Councillors in a public forum, not behind closed doors.

“Time is short, and we will discuss at this meeting how we can maintain and increase the pressure on the Council, ahead of the full Council on March 3.”

Dozens of protestors packed inside the budget cabinet meeting at Wallasey town hall on Monday.

Unison branch secretary Paddy Cleary was among those demonstrating against closure on Monday.

He told the Globe: "We want the council to prove to us that the alternative options they have come up for those who rely on Girtrell Court are suitable.

"This is a Labour-led authority that has vowed to look after vulnerable people - closing Girtrell Court is not doing that.

"Make no bones about it, this is just an attempt to save money.

"But they need to realise that trying to do it this way is extremely unfair to some of the most vulnerable people in Wirral."

Councillors voted unanimously to approve a raft of measures during the meeting, which included increasing council tax by almost 4%.

A recommendation that £203,000 of savings should be made from Wirral's library service was withdrawn for a full review over the next 12 months.

Around £80m will be invested into adult care services with a similar amount for children’s facilities.

There are also plans to improve the borough roads, tackle anti-social behaviour and revamp leisure and recreational facilities.

Council staff will have to take four days' unpaid leave for a further five years although enhanced payments for those working weekends and evenings survived.

During Monday's cabinet meeting, council leader Phil Davies said he would welcome alternative options to keep Girtrell Court open.

The decisions will now go before a meeting of the full council next Thursday, March 3.

Ahead of tonight's public meeting Saughall Massie Conservative councillor Chris Blakeley  said: "I believe that the families of those using Girtrell Court, the staff, trade unions and residents and users must be given every opportunity to influence the future of Girtrell Court through a clear and transparent decision making process, that clearly will not take place if this decision is made behind closed doors as Wirral Cabinet seem to want."