Staveley care home campaigners upset after offer turned down

Campaigners want to convert the building into 16 independent living apartments with a central hub for social and community activities

Campaigners aiming to buy a former council-owned care home and turn it into flats say it is "very upsetting" their offer was not accepted.

The Staveley Community Trust said it made a credible offer as part of plans to turn the Abbey in Staveley, Cumbria, into 16 independent living flats.

But it received a letter after the sale deadline to say it was unsuccessful.

A Cumbria County Council spokesperson confirmed "no acceptable offers were received for the property".

"The council is now considering its next steps," they added.

Campaigners said they were uncertain about what would happen next.

Last year the county council refused to transfer the former home as a "community asset" to the community group, saying its plan was not viable.

Instead it put the Abbey up for sale.

Campaigners had raised more than £170,000 and secured a £260,000 grant from South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) to help redevelop the home if it had been successful in buying it.

Although the submitted bid did not match the £300,000 valuation for the building, campaigners said they remained committed to their plans.

They said they wanted to "represent the elderly people of the village and surrounding areas" by providing options for residents to stay in the local area, if living in their own homes became too much.

When campaigners lobbied meetings they handed out biscuits to councillors, containing the 'Save the Abbey for Staveley' message

The campaigners previously said the county council had been "unhelpful" in its dealings with them, adding a timescale and criteria on how the building's future would be decided had not been given.

Deborah Michel, trust secretary, said: "It's not ideal but the general feeling is we just want to move this along and this is prolonging the agony, we just want to get on with it."

Ms Michel added the group was starting a legal challenge asking for a judicial review, and their fees were being paid for by a donor.

"In no way do we want to waste council money, which is our money, but we are representing the people of Staveley and they're telling us they want to stay in the village in their old age," she said.

"We've written loads of letters asking the council to talk to us - we're a little village and we don't want any trouble but we want to be treated fairly."