The Argel home at Johnstown will be rebuilt

All three will be demolished, but one will be rebuilt and provide places for residents currently living elsewhere.

However local people in Hendy, the site of one of the homes, have expressed concerns that the site may be converted to executive properties, which they are against.

Local authorities in Wales are having to make big changes to the accommodation they provide for the elderly to meet new government standards.

There are 14 council-run residential homes in Carmarthenshire but these are to be cut to 10 in the next decade and �17m invested in modernising and extending them.

This is not just about meeting minimum care standards it's about meeting the highest standards of care Councillor Martin Morris

At a meeting on Wednesday councillors agreed to implement phase one of the plan which will see the existing Argel home at Johnstown demolished and rebuilt.

It will also accommodate residents from Cartref Tawelon in Carmarthen which will close.

Llwyngwern in Hendy will also shut - its two councillors were the only ones to vote against the plan.

Gwyneth Thomas said there were fears that the site would be sold to a private developer for housing.

"The one thing Hendy has had is plenty of this sort of executive housing," she said.

Decor

Councillor William James said: "I have to represent the people of Hendy by objecting to this proposal.

"If people are forced to move from there the staff ask if they can go with them because the move should be as smooth as possible."

But the plan was approved after gaining cross party support.

Executive board member for social care Pam Palmer said that no resident would be moved until new accommodation was completed.

She said residents would even be given a say on the decor of their new rooms.

"I would like them to be involved in choosing the furniture and colour of their new rooms," she said.

Opposition leader Martin Morris said: "This is not just about meeting minimum care standards it's about meeting the highest standards of care."

Phase one, which will also see more than �6m invested at Llys Y Bryn in Llanelli and Maesllewellyn in Newcastle Emlyn, is due to be completed by 2008.

Head of adult services Bill Collins said: "This development programme will ensure that older people who need residential care will continue to receive the very best.