WFC has confirmed that the"refurbishment" option would mean the home "would have to close for an estimated 12 to 24 months, with current residents having to move temporarily or permanently to an alternative home", and that rebuilding on the same site would
mean residents moving out for two to four years. WFC has accepted that its
consultation materials "did not spell out" that the home would have to close for
an extended period, and that some people had supported the refurbishment option
because they understood it would allow residents to remain during the work.
Grisedale Croft is the only care home on Alston Moor. In practice, moving
residents out of it means moving them away from the town, and from the daily
contact of the family and friends who visit them. The displacement of frail and
elderly people from their community is the heart of our concern, and it applies
to every option that empties the building.
The Working Group has written to WFC in response. We have welcomed the
correction, but we have said that a two-week extension and an invitation to
resubmit "if they wish" may not be enough to put right the responses already
given on a mistaken understanding. We have asked WFC to write individually to
everyone who chose the refurbishment option, as it is plainly able to do, to set
out how many responses it has received, and to explain how it will treat and
weigh the responses given before the correction was made.
If you have already responded — particularly if you chose refurbishment
believing residents could stay in the home — you are entitled to update or
replace your response, and we would encourage you to do so. WFC has also
confirmed that its "newly acquired property" option refers to the town of
Alston, and has arranged a public meeting at Alston Town Hall on Thursday
16 July. We would urge as many people as possible to attend. The consultation
closes on 19 August, and there is more on how to respond here.
The Grisedale Croft Working Group, Alston Moor Parish Council