Staveley campaigners bid to buy care home for community

Campaigners admit their plans are ambitious but say they are in the best interests of local people

Villagers bidding to raise £250,000 to buy a former council-owned care home have accused the authority of being "unhelpful" over the building's future.

Staveley Community Trust wants to turn the Abbey into flats and a social hub.

Cumbria County Council refused its bid to transfer the home as a "community asset" saying its plan was not viable.

But subject to the transfer going ahead, a district council has approved a £260,000 grant, saying its plan has "sufficient potential benefits".

The property is for sale, with a deadline for would-be purchasers next Wednesday.

The council closed the home in 2020 and later rejected the idea of giving it to the community trust saying it would expose "the core volunteer team" to "significant financial risks".

Trust members came up with a business plan, called The New Abbey, to turn the building into 16 "safe and accessible apartments for older people", with the hub to be used for social activities.

The trust has raised more than £107,000 towards the purchase through a crowdfunding campaign, and says the money will be returned if a bid to buy it is unsuccessful.

Campaigners lobbied Cumbria County Council's cabinet in December 2022

And, subject to the building being approved to be sold as a "community asset", it has also secured the £260,000 grant from South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) to go ahead with its plans.

The district council has not commented on the county council's position but a spokesperson for SLDC said "there were sufficient potential benefits to justify the grant being approved".

The grant "would help the trust move from a broad proposal to a more robust, detailed business and delivery plan", the spokesperson added.

He said the money would come from the council's Community Housing Fund - enabled through government funding of £2.36m in 2017.

Deborah Michel, trust secretary, said: "It's such a paternal idea for Cumbria County Council to say it won't work, we have never asked the council to support any operating losses.

"I've worked on this proposal three days a week for the past 18 months, the investment from our community is vast and we genuinely believe in this and we will make it work."

'Moral obligation'

But, a county council spokesperson said there had been an "ongoing process of dialogue and review" with the trust since February 2020 and so far "information submitted was insufficient to establish the deliverability of this project".

However, the trust said it had asked the authority for a timescale and criteria on how the building's future would be decided, but it was not given the information.

Fran Richardson, a trustee, said: "This should not be an opportunity to sell off the crown jewels and make a fast buck without considering what it does to the community it's at the heart of."

She added the council, rather than accepting the highest bidder, had a "moral obligation" to treat public assets with respect and "take into account the social values" of the local community.

The county council said the retention of the former care home was costing the taxpayer approximately £50,000 a year and had a "disposal programme" to sell any land and buildings before the beginning of April, when it will be replaced by two new authorities.