'Unsafe' Rotherham retirement home shut down over serious fire risk
- Published
Residents of Oak Trees care home were at "significant" risk of fire, an assessment found
An "unsafe" Rotherham retirement home has been permanently shut down.
Oak Trees, which was built by social housing provider Together Housing in 2006, has been closed since 2020 after "significant" fire risks were identified.
Rotherham Council, which owns the land, this week approved plans to shut it down for good.
Together Housing said it would be "extensive and costly" to make the home safe.
The retirement home's residents have already been relocated to nearby Bakersfield Court, where the local authority said it was providing them with "a 24/7 care and support service".
Oak Trees, in Stag Willow Close, is comprised of a main building with eight individual flats and communal facilities for 20 neighbouring bungalows.
Together Housing shut the main building three years ago after a risk assessment found "significant risks to users and occupiers of the building in the event of a fire", a report to the council's cabinet said.
It added the provider had "raised concerns about the viability" of the investment needed to make the site safe and had proposed closing and knocking down the main building.
On Monday, the cabinet approved the proposal, which the council said would "provide certainty for all tenants as to the future" of Oak Trees, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The report said the building could now be demolished.
George Paterson, executive director of property for Together Housing, said the 20 bungalows on the surrounding estate "have all undergone fire safety remediation work", but it would be too expensive to reopen the communal facilities.
"The future of the building will be decided in due course," he added.
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