DEVON County Council is consulting on the closure of their care homes. The consultation closes on Wednesday, March 19.

Wardhayes Care Home in Okehampton is due for closure. My mother-in- law was in Wardhayes for the last few years of her life and it is an excellent home with very caring staff. It is well run.

I do not wish to see it either closed or sold off to the expensive private sector. The demographic of Okehampton is one of increasing numbers of elderly residents. Is this a wise decision by the County Council?

As I read the consultation, the DCC plan is to sell Wardhayes off to the private sector where care places are much more costly for the public. DCC tell us that care beds in the private sector are cheaper than in the state sector.

This will be because DCC will have shed their overhead expenditure for the homes – this I understand.

However, I have recently been looking at the private sector care homes for my father and all those that we looked at both locally and in London where my sister lives involved a 'top-up' payment from the family.

This is fine if the family can afford to pay it – but what if they cannot? Where does that leave families who badly need respite or full time care because financially they cannot afford to stay at home to look after elderly relatives?

I would like to know where our county councillors James McInnes and Kevin Ball both stand on this issue please?

Are they following the Conservative party line or are they going to stand up and fight for the right for local residents of Okehampton and the surrounding area to have a local authority care home available to them?

What will be next to sell off to the private sector because they are too expensive to run – our state schools?

If you feel that we should have a local authority care home available for residents of Okehampton and the surrounding area then make your feelings known to your local county councillors - James  McInnes via email on [email protected]">[email protected]  and Kevin Ball via email on [email protected]">[email protected] or comment directly on the consultation via the DCC website link new.devon.gov.uk/dayservices

Kay Bickley

Upcott House B&B

Upcott Hill

Okehampton