Court orders council to consult residents over home closures

Bury council must re-start the
process of consulting residents and relatives over its proposals to
close down two older people’s care homes following a high
court ruling, writes Katie Leason.

Mr Justice Richards said residents
and their families had been given “inaccurate and misleading”
information before the council decided on 16 July to close the
Warthfield and Whittaker House homes.

There had been a breach of
fundamental rules of fairness, and there was no evidence that the
council had taken into account residents’ right to “respect
for their home and family lives” under article 8 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, the judge ruled.

However he conceded that a decision
to close the homes was still the “likely” outcome.

The council had argued that Bury
suffers from over capacity in residential care homes for older
people, and that the closures were in line with government policy
to encourage caring for older people in their own homes or in
sheltered housing.