A CHARITY that helps young people with severe learning disabilities is hoping to create a new day centre at Holt Heath, near Worcester.

New Hope Lodge has applied to Malvern Hills District Council for permission to put the centre in a unit at the Top Barn Business Centre. The unit currently has permission to operate as a service centre for heavy goods vehicles.

In a statement from the applicant, Mrs Jean Wilson of New Hope Lodge, says that the aim of the project is to support young people aged 19-25 with severe learning disabilities.

She said it will be open on Mondays to Fridays between 9am to 5pm, but not at weekends or on bank holidays.

"Apart from colleges, it will be the only setting in Worcestershire to offer an age-specific service for young people with disabilities. The project will lessen social isolation for this group of young people as they leave school and provide purposeful activities to enhance their learning and development," said Mrs Wilson.

"It is anticipated that initially three young people will start when the project opens and gradually build in numbers from there. There will be no more than 12 young people in the building at any one time."

Mrs Wilson said that New Hope has the funding in place to create and operate the new centre.

She said: "The idea came bout because a lot of our parents are worried about what will happen to their children when they get older and leave school, and the new centre is really a response to that."

New Hope hit the headlines in recent weeks after the Shrub Hill branch of Pizza Hut refused to take a booking from the group. Mrs Wilson said that staff told her they did not want the booking because the carers in the group would not be eating.

This week, the UK chief executive of Pizza Hut, Jens Hofma, personally called Mrs Wilson to apologise for the incident.