Council to sell off homes for older people

Martin Court in Anstey is among the schemes the council wants to dispose of

A council has decided to sell off a number of sheltered accommodation schemes which it says are no longer fit for purpose.

Charnwood Borough Council said it had identified five complexes built in the 1960s and 1970s as they no longer met older tenants' needs.

The authority said it could not afford an estimated £65m bill to replace the accommodation so it intends to offload them to an unnamed private provider to build and manage new homes in their place.

Martin Court in Anstey, St Peter's Court in Syston, Babbington Court in Rothley, Sorrel Court in Mountsorrel and a block at Fielding Court in Loughborough will be sold under the plans.

'Beyond repair'

The council said 64 residents were still living in the various complexes but 115 properties were vacant.

"They are empty largely because much of the bedsit accommodation has shared bathrooms and people no longer want that type of accommodation," a spokesperson said.

"These schemes were constructed in the late 1960s and early 1970s and no longer meet either the needs or aspirations of older people.

"They are beyond repair and must be replaced in the short term."

The council said it had engaged with existing tenants, the Age UK charity and councillors over the move.

The spokesperson added: "Further consultation will also take place.

"The aim is to complete one scheme first before moving on to the others and this is a long-term plan that will take several years.

"It is also intended that residents who are displaced from these existing schemes will be given the opportunity to move into the new ones.

"We fully appreciate this will affect people's homes and we will support any tenants affected. Our core aim is to raise standards of the accommodation."