Information on Loughborough

Loughborough care home to be sold.

Posted on 23/06/2008

hands and house keys

The sale of six County Council care homes, including one in Loughborough, has been agreed by Leicestershire’s ruling Cabinet.

A consortium made up of Warwickshire Care Services and the Housing Solutions Group (HSG) is set to run six Leicestershire homes and to take ownership of Melton’s Silverdale hostel site from December, once legal discussions are finalised.

David Sprason, Cabinet member for Adult Social Care, said: "I’m delighted that we have reached agreement with two very experienced ‘not for profit’ operators, who have pledged to work with us to develop services for older people."

A spokesman for the consortium said: "The Consortium is delighted to have this opportunity to develop, with the County Council, services for people in Leicestershire.

"We are looking forward to working with and for residents, families and staff, whom we will be meeting very soon."

Last year, the County Council decided to transfer six homes - Catherine Dalley House in Melton, Hadrian House in Thurmaston, Huntingdon Court in Loughborough, Harvey House in Barwell, Kirby House in Kirby Muxloe and Woodmarket House in Lutterworth - as "going concerns" to independent providers. Existing residents and staff will be able to remain there.

Silverdale, a learning disability hostel due to close in May, which is next to the Catherine Dalley site, was also offered for sale through this process.

A "considerable number" of companies expressed an interest and a total of 10 care providers were shortlisted.

The successful bidders - Warwickshire Care Services and HSG - are both not-for-profit organisations, who have formed a new consortium to run the six homes, plus redevelop the Silverdale hostel site.

Warwickshire Care Services has run 11 homes for Warwickshire County Council since 1992 and currently provides dementia care services for 111 people over the age of 65 in five homes. It also has a domiciliary care service and provides services to adults with physical disabilities.

HSG is a registered social landlord, which owns around 4,000 homes. It has experience since 2005 of working as a consortium with the Freemantle Trust and Buckinghamshire County Council on a redevelopment called Project Care, where HSG has committed £50 million to build eight new care homes, plus other housing.

The successful bidders were selected after taking into account the investment and quality criteria and they were the preferred choice of the staff representatives from the homes who were involved in that part of the evaluation process.

A number of legal discussions now need to take place between the consortium and the council, to finalise the deal. The consortium will meet residents and staff in the six homes during the period before the homes and Silverdale are due to transfer, in December this year.