Council approves consultation on care home closure plans

Protesters gathered when the care homes were threatened in 2020

Plans to close seven council-run care homes will be put out to consultation, councillors have agreed.

Derbyshire County Council says the homes are in a poor state of repair and need £30m spending on them.

Last year, a similar consultation led to public backlash and protests, which resulted in the authority scrapping its immediate closure plans.

On Thursday, the council's cabinet voted to run the consultation from Monday until 14 February 2022.

The affected homes are Ladycross House in Sandiacre, Beechcroft in West Hallam, East Clune in Clowne, Holmlea in Tibshelf, The Spinney in Brimington, Goyt Valley House in New Mills and Gernon Manor in Bakewell.

The three proposed options are:

• Close the homes for up to 40 weeks and spend £27m on repairs

• Close the homes and move residents to other "local, suitable alternative provision"

• Close the homes and move residents to "any available suitable alternative provision"

The council has said even if the repairs are carried out, the homes are "no longer fit for purpose" and do not have the space to be adapted.

Ladycross House is one of seven facing closure under proposals by Derbyshire County Council

A Conservative councillor previously said he was "leaning towards" standing against the plans by the Tory-run authority.

Labour opposition councillors said the proposals posed "further upset and uncertainty" for vulnerable residents and their families.

Councillor Natalie Hoy, cabinet member for adult care, said: "The work needed to these homes is significant and couldn't be carried out with people still living in them. All the residents would have to move out and we'd need to re-deploy staff for up to 40 weeks whilst works were undertaken.

"I understand this will be unsettling but I'd like to reassure people that no decisions would be made until we'd heard from everyone and taken their views into account.

"We will be keeping an open mind and if any other options are put forward during the consultation, including viable alternatives to put modern facilities on these sites, we will of course consider these."