Kent County Council is to close four residential care homes, saying they are no longer fit for purpose.

The council claims there is a greater demand for sheltered accommodation and nursing homes.

The four homes are:

• The Dorothy Lucy Centre in Maidstone
• The Kiln Court Care Home in Faversham
• Wayfarers Home in Sandwich
• Blackburn Lodge in Sheerness

In the case of Dorothy Lucy Centre and Kiln Court, the homes will be sold off to developers without any requirement to maintain them as care homes.

If the plans for all four are agreed, 223 jobs will be affected - with 75 lost at Dorothy Lucy and 42 at Kiln Court.

While there are just two permanent residents in these two homes, which together have 58 beds, they also provide a range of respite and day care services.

In the case of Wayfarers, the county council says it will seek to sell it as a going concern.

There are seven permanent residents at the home and KCC says they will remain there, along with 42 employees.

Blackburn Lodge, which has 13 permanent residents and 64 staff, would be closed and KCC will try to find a new site for a nursing home on Sheppey, where there is none at present. Residents and staff would stay at the home until alternative provision is found.

Despite a rapidly growing elderly population, social services chiefs say they need more sheltered accommodation or nursing homes rather than care homes.

Cllr Graham Gibbens (Con), KCC cabinet member for social care, said none of the homes could be adapted to meet modern-day requirements, such as en-suite bedrooms.

“To make a new care home viable, you do need about 60 residents to operate economically. The social care market is very different now and these homes are not fit for purpose.”

A recent review by social services of what could be needed in Kent to care for the elderly identified that by 2021, there will be a shortage of 1,800 nursing beds and 2,500 beds in sheltered accommodation.

At the same time, KCC says it is committed to ensuring elderly people can stay in their own homes for as long as they can.

In 2010, both Blackburn Lodge and Kiln Court were earmarked to be sold off by KCC but no buyers were found.

Cllr Gibbens said: “We are looking at these four homes because they are no longer fit for purpose. They were all built in the 1980s and the people who need this sort of care in 2015 is very different to what it was then.

“People coming into this care are doing so a lot later in life, often with dementia or other medical needs and these four homes do not met that requirement.”

On the plan for Wayfarers, the idea was for it to be sold as a going concern with staff continuing to work there.

“All the people who live there will remain and those who use it for day care will continue to do so.”

On Blackburn Lodge, he said the home would remain open until replacement services were found.

He said: “There is no nursing care on Sheppey, which is very sad. What I would like to ensure is develop an alternative facility on Sheppey, where people have a choice of support. We do need across Kent more sheltered housing and nursing care.”

On Dorothy Lucy and Kiln Court: “Each of these homes has only one permanent resident and we do not believe either is fit for purpose.

"We will be finding homes for residents in places they would like to go to. We will be finding appropriate provision for those who use day care facilities.”

Opposition Labour spokesman Cllr Gordon Cowan said KCC had failed to invest in the homes.

“The reason why it would cost a lot to renovate them now is because the council failed to invest in them since the last review. As far as we are concerned, the closure of any home is a concern - these people still need to go somewhere.”

Consultation on the plans gets under way today and will continue until December 20.

A decision will be take in January. Full details are available on www.kent.gov/olderpeoplesfuture