Susan van de Ven

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Bassingbourn, Litlington, Melbourn, Meldreth and Whaddon Learn more

Southwell Court: Melbourn’s best-kept secret

by Susan van de Ven on 21 October, 2014

Last night, together with my Melbourn district council colleagues, I attended a packed meeting at Southwell Court, Melbourn, where very elderly residents have been told out of the blue that their care home, owned by Metropolitan housing association, is likely to be closed in the near future. For most Southwell Court residents, the notion of moving again has simply never been a consideration.

From the faces of residents’ families sitting alongside, it was clear that Southwell Court is made up of local residents.
Ironically, the strong sense of community within – including residents and clearly devoted local staff – did not seem to be matched by Metropolitan as owners. It was stated that the home has been ‘historically under-occupied’, however no obvious effort has been made by Metropolitan to forge links with the community, communicate with Melbourn and surrounding villages, and indeed to advertise itself and attract new residents for its fifteen vacancies. Residents said that Southwell Court is Melbourn’s best-kept secret.

A heated discussion took place about the meaning of Metropolitan’s ‘consultation’ ending on November 9th, given the fact that it appears already to have made the decision to close. However, persistent questions resulted in a window of opportunity to try and find a means of keeping the home open. This needs to be a short period of time, due to the stress that uncertainty inevitably brings, and particularly for people of a great age. We heard from several residents who have had hospital stays since the news was announced.

We hope to hear follow-up news very shortly.

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