Council leader says New Mills care home will not close before 2022

Councillor Barry Lewis says no care homes in Derbyshire will close without ‘alternative provision’ to replace them.

However Coun Lewis has so far not specified whether or not the new homes would be provided in the same locations as the ones they are replacing.

The leader’s announcement comes after the council published proposals to close Goyt Valley House as its badly-rundown building was ‘no longer fit for purpose’.

In a letter to residents and families in January the council wrote how the ageing building would need rewiring to bring it up to modern standards.

Launching a consultation on the possible closure of seven homes in the county they added that even if repairs were carried out ‘some of our homes are no longer fit for the purpose of providing high-quality care’.

The proposals sparked outrage from the families of Goyt Valley House residents - with many saying new facilities being offered by private care homes to replace the centre were like ‘hotels’.

Kath Mulligan, whose 103-year-old mother had a mini-stroke when she found out about the planned Goyt Valley House closure, said mum Nora Davis had lived in New Mills all her life - adding ‘why should she have to leave the area now at the end of her life?’

Coun Lewis wrote on the Derbyshire County Conservative Group website how ‘we are committed to not closing any of (the homes) unless there is a new care home to replace it’.

He wrote how ‘no DCC-run care home will close in Derbyshire before the onset of 2022’ apart from Ilkeston’s Hazelwood Care Home - which was earmarked for closure due to structural defects.

He added: “If a care home is to close after the start of 2022 there will be new alternative provision to replace it.”

The leader said that any closures before 2022 would be ‘temporary’ while safety issues around rewiring and asbestos were addressed to ensure safety.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said she was aware the Derbyshire Conservative group ‘had released a statement regarding the future of care homes’.

She added: “We therefore expect that Cabinet will be asked to consider a revised strategy and we will subsequently engage with all of those affected to ensure they understand the decisions made and the reasons for these.”

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