Residents go to court to fight redevelopment

Residents are fighting a decision to redevelop their disabled
care home by using article eight of the European Convention on
Human Rights.

The decision to redevelop Le Court, the first Leonard Cheshire
Foundation charity home for the disabled, and replace it with a
16-bed nursing home for highly-dependent residents has angered
three residents of the home -ÊElizabeth Heather 47, Martin
Ward 76, and Hilary Callin 42.

Presenting their case before the high court in London last week,
counsel Richard Gordon QC argued that moving people from a home
they had come to value was a breach of article eight and accused
the Leonard Cheshire Foundation of reneging on a home for life
promise it had allegedly made.

But counsel for the Leonard Cheshire Foundation, James Goudie
QC, said the alleged promise had been misinterpreted by lawyers. He
also said that no final decision to relocate the residents had been
made and that consultation and assessment of all residents’ needs
would take place over the next five years, before arriving at any
decision on the future provision of care.

The judge is now considering his ruling.