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Parents' fears over future of autism service
Worried parents fear the only autism service for adults in Kensington and Chelsea could be moved out of the borough.
Full of Life currently provides care for children and adults on the autism spectrum from a building on the site of Barlby Primary School in North Kensington, but its lease is due to run out this year.
Kensington and Chelsea Council wants to use the site to provide a special educational needs centre, which would be attached to the school and provide care and support for its pupils with extra needs, including those with autism.
While Full of Life see this new provision as a good thing, it means that their centre will be moved elsewhere, and could be forced to leave the borough.
Frank Redmond, who set the charity up with his wife in 1994 after their daughter was found to be autistic, said: "Of course more provision for those with autism is a good thing and I support what the council is doing in principle.
"But it means that we have to be moved elsewhere, despite spending the past 18 years building up a great centre here.
"We have spent a lot of time and money on this place, including providing an outdoor space including an area for our young people to grow their own plants and it's a great space. We could well lose that if we move.
"The site the council is pushing for us to move into, Edward Woods Centre, I think is just over the borough into Hammersmith and Fulham, and it doesn't have the outdoor space we need. I hope they can find us something better, closer to where we are now."
And the mum of a 15 year-old boy who uses the centre, said: "My son's getting to that age where school provision for his autism will stop, yet he is at the severe end of the spectrum.
"What will happen when he turns 16? Full of Life can support him, and they have done great work so far, bringing him out of himself, giving him confidence, and helping him develop some social skills which he didn't have before.
"And as much as I love him, it is nice to get a bit of a break now and again. Looking after him is more than a full time job, it's 24/7."
But the council insisted that although it is looking at Edward Woods Centre, it is trying to find the best possible replacement site for the charity.
A council spokeswoman said: "Full of Life's lease at Barlby School ends shortly. The Royal Borough has been working for some time in full consultation with Full of Life to secure alternative premises for their valuable work.
"The Edward Woods Centre has been considered but other possible sites are also being explored."
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Full of Life was actually founded by a woman called Jackie Jenner.