Closure delayed as protesters sit tight

A sit-in by residents of a care home earmarked for closure has forced a Scottish council to delay deregistration.

Two residents of West Dunbartonshire Council’s Leven Cottage home, along with a local Scottish Socialist Party councillor, Jim Bollan, have occupied the home for three months and refuse to leave.

The Care Commission, Scotland’s care regulator, has agreed to the council’s request to delay the home’s deregistration. Its registration was due to expire this week.

A council spokesperson said it had planned to close Leven Cottage three months ago because it was no longer fit for purpose.

But Bollan said the remaining residents had not been offered suitable alternative accommodation.

“We are determined to stay here until the council sees sense and appreciates that the residents have rights,” he added.