Public meeting held in Sandwich to discuss future of Wayfarers care home
00:00, 20 November 2015
updated: 10:21, 20 November 2015
A public meeting on the future of Wayfarers care home in Sandwich will be held at the Guildhall on Tuesday, November 24.
This comes after Kent County Council announced last month it plans to sell the care home in St Bart’s Road as a going concern.
KCC said the building was “not fit for purpose” and the council does not have the funds to refurbish it.
This has caused concern among residents and councillors which resulted in calls for a public meeting.
Dick Perry, former councillor and chairman of the Friends of Wayfarers, led the campaign against the care home being sold-off five years ago.
He said: “I shall be supporting the idea of a public meeting and making sure that people know about it. I believe the situation is not encouraging.”
He said Sandwich needs Wayfarers but he thought the sum of money it would need to take it over is too large to be funded by the Sandwich people.
A consultation on the future of older people’s services is now under way.
The public meeting is a result of a letter sent from Sandwich Town Council to KCC claiming that more information was needed on what would happen to Wayfarers if it was sold. The council is calling for assurances that staff and residents will be able to stay there and that a condition of sale must be to ensure the site remains as a care home with good, quality care.
The meeting will be held in the main hall at the Guildhall at 2pm and all are welcome to attend.
To make your views known, go to http://consultations.kent.gov.uk/consult.ti/carehomes/consultationHome
Or call 03000 418345.