Sheerness: Consultation opens on future of KCC-owned care home
Kent County CouncilA council-owned care home on the Isle of Sheppey could be closed permanently.
Blackburn Lodge in Sheerness was temporarily closed last November after a inspection found iron levels in the piped water was 20 times higher than permitted.
Kent County Council (KCC) has now started a consultation on a proposal to permanently shut down the site.
Other options considered were to reopen the building or attempt to sell it as a going concern.
The estimated cost of works needed to bring Blackburn Lodge up to required standards would have been £4m, taking about 13 months to complete, KCC said.
'Considerable cost'
The care home provided long-term and short-term residential and day care. Its residents were relocated at short notice when the water issue emerged.
A petition against the home's potential closure had received more than 1,000 signatures.
KCC's cabinet member for adult social care and public health, Dan Watkins, said: "It is not an option we put forward lightly.
"But it does follow a stark assessment of the building's condition, including subsidence and issues with the water supply system, and the considerable cost it will take to fix it."
The consultation will run until 7 May and its findings will be considered by KCC's adult social care committee in July.
