Concern has been raised that the proposal for a 'super' day centre on the site of Witney's Moorview Hospital is not in the interests of users.

Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare Trust plans to shut Moorview, which caters for elderly people with mental health problems, and reopen it as a day centre.

Oxfordshire County Council, which would take control of the new 'super' day centre, plans to move the town's Elms day centre and Moorlands Centre to the site.

But Enid Dossett-Davies, pictured, who managed The Elms, in Church Green, for 20 years, said she felt the move was purely financial.

She said: "I suspect it is not to improve the services, but to raise a lot of money from selling that beautiful house in Church Green.

"If I thought it would be a very improved central service, I would feel better about it, but I have my suspicions that that is not the motivation for it."

She added that moving to new premises could cause distress to users.

County council spokesman Barbara McSweeney said the new centre would improve services locally.

She said: "The Elms is too small to accommodate the people who need its services and there are problems with providing disabled access and the best facilities.

"The Moorlands day centre as it stands is also inadequate for the needs of service users.

"The Moorview Hospital site, on the other hand, is located near the town centre and provides scope for expansion into one of the council's 'super' day centres where social services and health care services can be offered under one roof."

Healthcare trust spokeswoman Jane Appleton said the new centre would be for all elderly people, irrespective of whether they had mental health problems. An extra 10 places would be made available specifically for those with mental health problems.

Moorview'd inpatient ward will shut next month and the day hospital will be relocated temporarily from September, while Moorview is refurbished. It is expected to reopen as a day centre next April.