Legal threat over possible care home closures

Councillor's warning over county council plans

- BY PAUL FAULKNER Local Democracy Reporting Service

A LEGAL challenge could be mounted to the process being used to help decide the future of 10 elderly care facilities across Lancashire, including in Hyndburn - unless it is effectively restarted so that it can be based on more up-to-date information.

That is the warning from a senior councillor who says crucial details about the condition of five care homes and five day centres placed under review by Lancashire County Council, including Woodlands Home for Older People in Clayton-le-Moors, are still not available with just 48 hours to go until the closure of a public consultation.

The authority's Progressive Lancashire opposition group leader, Azhar Ali, has written to County Hall chief executive Mark Wynn to call for the closing date to be extended by eight weeks - the same length of time it has already been running.

The county council has commissioned fresh assessments to determine the current physical state of the local authority-run facilities. It says that these will be available in time for cabinet members to make a decision on whether to close or refurbish the premises, which is due to be taken in February.

The buildings were described by the county council as being in “significantly poor condition” when the consultation launched in October - but the possibility of any or all of them being shut down has prompted uproar from the families of residents and users of the services.

The last time properties were assessed was in 2021 and the ruling Reform UK group ordered that new surveys be carried out to inform the current review process.

However, the fact that they have not been published before the end of the consultation makes a mockery of the whole process, County Cllr Ali said.