A respite care home for children with disabilities in Richmond is to close down because of a funding shortage, and families will instead have to travel 13 miles south to a home in Chessington.

Croft Cottage, a two bedroom facility used on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in Windham Road, will be unable to operate at its current budget, according to its provider, Enhanceable.

Richmond Council, which faces a 66 per cent cut to its grant from the Government, the “difficult state” of its finances means it has to “find a financially viable” option.

From March 1: Council tax to rise for first time in seven years but Lib Dems argue it does not go far enough

It said it is working on a new “state of the art” facility in Chessington for the 11 families who use Croft Cottage. In the meantime they will use Warren Park in Kingston.

Speaking at this month’s full council meeting, Richmond cabinet member for children’s services Paul Hodgins said: “I do appreciate the impact of change on families with SEN children who need respite. The reality is that it was the provider that gave notice to stop their service.

“They said that they could only continue if the contract was increased by £50,000. And where we’ve got other provision that we can access – and we’ve got a longer-term vision for an outstanding facility for respite – we couldn’t justify sacrificing another service in order to keep this at Croft Cottage. We are looking at other provision.

“Croft Cottage will continue to be used for vulnerable young people and we’re looking at options.”

Cllr Hodgins confirmed families are being consulted about new provisions.