Plan to shut care home is dropped by council

A closure-threatened care home has been saved from the axe after council chiefs vowed to keep it open.

Elderly residents living at New Bradley Hall, in Kingswinford, faced being forced out under plans to shut the site.

Dudley Council leader, Councillor Les Jones, today said the home "will not close". But he added the council plans to finish consultation to determine how it will care for patients in the future. Councillor Jones said of the closure: "It is not going to happen under my administration."

He added: "I wanted to take the option for closure off the table to stop it being used as a political football in the run up to the elections."

Campaigner Mac Scott MBE said it was a "victory for the residents" adding he was pleased that "common sense had prevailed".

"I'm pleased that they have had the decency to decide to look again at the situation because at the end of the day all this has only ever been about the welfare of the residents," he added.

Labour leader, Councillor David Sparks, had stated his party's commitment to keeping the home open if they take control of the authority following the May elections.

"We have not played it politically to ensure that the people lobbying got a fair hearing," he said. "We will keep New Bradley Hall open and also if I'm elected leader of the council I will immediately instruct a major report to see how we meet the demands for adult social care."

The official consultation is due to end on April 27 with a decision in June. Dudley's UKIP spokesman Bill Etheridge has also indicated the party wants to keep New Bradley Hall open.

Dudley Council announced last September that New Bradley Hall along with New Bridge House in Coseley and New Swinford Hall in Stourbridge would shut by 2014. But a public outcry followed with around 5,000 signatures collected by New Bradley's residents and relatives to protest against the plans.