Council Scrutiny Board rejects Liberal Democrat calls for the original promise to be honoured.

“This is a shameful abandonment of the pledge given by the previous Liberal Democrat administration at the Town Hall in 2006.”

– Liberal Democrat Qurban Hussain.

When the decision was made that Sherd Lodge old peoples’ home should eventually close the Council gave a pledge to residents and their families that the home would not close whilst it still housed permanent residents with spare rooms being used for respite and other short stay people.

When the Labour controlled Council has decided the home will close in March, even though it is still home to five permanent residents, Liberal Democrat Councillors Qurban Hussain and Sid Rutstein called for the original pledge to be honoured and asked the Council’s Scrutiny Board to back the promise made to residents and their families.

But the Labour dominated Scrutiny Board decided on Monday evening (23rd November) that the closure should go ahead in March whether or not the home still housed permanent residents.

“This is a shameful abandonment of the pledge given by the previous Liberal Democrat administration at the Town Hall in 2006,” said Liberal Democrat Qurban Hussain. “It’s a clear case of the Labour Council putting money before people. To save £270,000 a year they are forcing frail elderly people to move away from their friends and from the place which has been their home for years.”