Plans for replacement residential care home in Ramsey scrapped

Cummal Mooar was first opened on 4 October 1981

Plans to replace a care home in the north of the Isle of Man have been scrapped after a change in demand for the facilities, Manx Care has said.

A new home was due to be built to replace Ramsey's Cummal Mooar, which opened in 1981.

Manx Care has blamed the U-turn on a need to review long-term needs, the reduced demand and rising costs.

The existing home on Queen's Promenade is still set to close in the next two years, the health provider has said.

The new facility was set to be constructed on land at the Cooil Ny Marrey site on Waterloo Road.

'Home first approach'

A spokeswoman for Manx Care said a key factor in the decision were rising construction costs, which had led to the price tag for the development now being "in excess of £13m".

However, when the planning application was submitted in January 2022 by the Department of Health and Social Care, the cost was estimated to be £12.8m.

Cummal Mooar is one of three residential care homes run by Manx Care on the island, but the healthcare body said the 46-bed facility was "no longer entirely fit for purpose".

A "review of the service requirements" would now take place and the aim would be to "support people at home as far as possible, through a 'home first' approach", the spokeswoman said.

"Replacing the facility with its modern equivalent would not be the most effective use of funding at this time," she said.

While the healthcare provider said there would be a facility in the north "in the coming years", what it would look like could not yet be confirmed.

As it was unlikely an alternative would be in place before Cummal Mooar was decommissioned, Manx Care would "work with residents and their families to ensure that they are moved to appropriate alternative accommodation", the spokeswoman added.