'Heart-breaking' closure for clients as Age UK Kettering Day Care centre shuts

Age UK Northamptonshire has run a day centre in Kettering for more than a decade; first out of the Four Seasons Day Centre in School Lane, then from the Rockingham Road Baptist Church for five years.

Clients and staff were given just three weeks notice of the closure, a decision by the organisation’s head office in Northampton.

Open five days a week, the centre has three members of staff as well as volunteers who look after up to 15 clients a day who pay for services.

A ‘sad announcement’ made by Age UK Northamptonshire said: “After careful consideration we have taken the difficult decision to close our day centre at the Baptist Church Rooms in Kettering after Friday, February 27, 2026.

"Please be assured that we are working to find alternative suitable provision for our clients and support from Adult Social Care. “It will be a sad day for our staff and volunteers, both now and in the past. They know the good work they have done over many years for our wonderful clients.

"We want to thank everyone for all their help over the years in making the day centre available to so many people.”

It is understood that Age UK Northamptonshire has been trying to place Kettering clients in other care settings, but because the Rockingham Road base offers toileting care to clients, those needing extra care will not be eligible for other day centres in the area.

One of the people affected said that their loved one was ‘very, very sad’ and that they had been happy at the centre with their people’.

Another said: “I think the clients deserve better. It’s heart breaking.”

As well as offering companionship, the clients have taken part in exercise classes, games and are given meals, providing them with a ‘family’.

Day care is £43 per five-hour session, rising to £52 for additional support. Accessible transport adds £20 for the return journey with door-to-door service.

Age UK Northamptonshire’s website boasts with the charity’s support, people keep their ‘independence and remain active for longer, continuing to feel a valued member of their community and able to make the most of life’. It adds: “The centres are a safe and enjoyable way for older people to meet new friends and take part in activities that suit them. We provide a purposely calm environment for people who may have complex needs, including physical impairment or dementia.”

One person with links to the centre said: “It’s a shame, there’s nothing else like it in Kettering. It offers families respite care. I don’t know what they are going to do.”

Age UK Northamptonshire’s workforce is made up of 156 salaried full-time and part-time employees, 86 casual workers and 77 Domestic Care Workers. There are also 287 ‘active’ volunteers.

They provide a wide range of services to around 18,000 older people and their families every year, improving their ‘quality of life, promoting their independence and preventing them from experiencing frailty, poverty and loneliness’.

A local independent charity, they are a member of the Age UK partnership of around 120 local charities.

Based on data from the Charity Commission, Age UK reported a total income of £131.78m for the financial year ending March 31 2025. This included £66.77m from donations and legacies, along with £60.12m from other trading activities.

Age UK Northamptonshire has two remaining day centres, one in York Road, Northampton and the other in Leeson Road, Towcester.