The consultation runs for twelve weeks and closes on Wednesday 5 August 2026.
You can take part online at consult.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/adult-social-care/grisedale-croft, by collecting a paper copy from Alston Library or other community venues, or by attending one of the six drop-in sessions listed below.
Please take part. Every response matters.
The Parish Council and the Grisedale Croft Working Group will be submitting a detailed formal response before the consultation closes. In the meantime, here is our honest assessment of what the Council's documents say — and what they do not say.
What the Council says
The Council acknowledges that Grisedale Croft currently has four long-term residents, that the building is more than fifty years old, and that running costs are high relative to a care home operating at full occupancy. Its preferred option — not a decision, and subject to consultation — is to find an alternative building in the local area, if one can be acquired.
The Council's own documents confirm what this community has always known: unlike the situation at its other home under consultation (Applethwaite Green in Windermere), Alston Moor has limited alternative care provision. That is WFC's own assessment.
What the Council's documents do not say
The consultation documents, as far as we have been able to see, make no mention of the documented history of commitments made to Alston Moor. We think that history is essential context for any informed view on the consultation.
In brief: when the inpatient beds at the Ruth Lancaster James Cottage Hospital were permanently closed in 2018, the NHS made a formal commitment that residential beds at Grisedale Croft would serve as step-down intermediate-care beds as part of an integrated care plan for Alston Moor — the Alston Alliance Plan. Grisedale Croft is not simply a home in decline; it is the last surviving element of a settlement this community accepted in exchange for the loss of its hospital beds.
The Parish Council is asking whether the consultation can properly be conducted without that context being placed before respondents. We are also asking questions, through the Freedom of Information process, about what drove occupancy from nine residents in 2018 to four in 2026 — because the answer to that question matters enormously to how the cost figures the Council is publishing should be read.
The Council states that running costs are four times those of a fully occupied home. That comparison is between a home at roughly 30% capacity and one at 100%. The question we are pursuing is: what happened to the other nine residents who were there in 2018? Were Alston Moor residents being referred to Grisedale Croft as they should have been?
What the preferred option actually says
The Council's preferred option is to find alternative accommodation locally if a suitable building can be acquired. No building has been identified. No funding has been confirmed. That conditional — if — is doing a great deal of work.
The Parish Council is not opposed to modern, fit-for-purpose care in Alston. We are asking the Council to be honest with residents about what is and is not on the table before asking them to accept the loss of a building that exists and functions today.
Drop-in sessions — come along
Officers from the Council's Adult Social Care team will be available at the following sessions. We encourage everyone with a view to attend and ask questions directly.
- Wednesday 3 June, 11am–1pm — Alston Library
- Monday 15 June, 5pm–7pm — Alston Library
- Friday 26 June, 10.30am–12.30pm — The Hive, Nenthead
- Friday 26 June, 2pm–4pm — Garrigill Village Hall
- Wednesday 1 July, 2pm–4pm — Alston Library
- Monday 20 July, 11am–1pm — Alston Library
If you or your family have been affected — please tell us
If you or someone you care for needed care on Alston Moor but was not placed at Grisedale Croft, your account is important. Please fill in our evidence on the Get Involved page on this site or collect a paper copy from Alston Town Hall or the Post Offices on the Moor.
The Parish Council's position
The Parish Council and the League of Friends Working Group have written formally to the Council asking it to pause this consultation pending a joint review with NHS partners, and to consider the future of Grisedale Croft as part of the broader integrated health and care picture for Alston Moor — not in isolation. We have not received a substantive response to that request.
We will be publishing our full consultation response before 5 August. We will keep the community informed as the process develops.
Alston Moor Parish Council — Grisedale Croft Working Group
Westmorland and Furness Council consultation runs for twelve weeks and closes on Wednesday 5 August 2026.
You can take part online at consult.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/adult-social-care/grisedale-croft, by collecting a paper copy from Alston Library or other community venues, or by attending one of the six drop-in sessions listed below.
Please take part. Every response matters.