The leader of Lancashire County Council has said the authority has “no intention to close” any of the five elderly care homes whose futures it has been reviewing.
Stephen Atkinson made what amounts to the most categorical statement yet about the facilities during a cabinet meeting on Thursday.
It came amid an increasingly bitter political row over the review process, which was initiated by the Reform UK-run authority in October after the premises were deemed to be in “significantly poor condition” – prompting concerns about the safety and quality of the services.
Read more: Guy’s Thatched Hamlet set to be sold to Bowland Beer Hall operator James’ Places
A two-month public consultation followed, during which campaigns sprang up to ‘save’ the homes – Favordale (Colne), Grove House (Adlington), Milbanke (Kirkham), Thornton House (Thornton-Cleveleys) and Woodlands (Clayton-le-Moors) – while the county council repeatedly stressed no conclusions had been reached about what should happen to any of them.
After receiving 1,600 consultation responses, County Hall said it would be delaying a final decision – which had been due this month – until the spring in order to allow more time for the public’s views to be properly considered.
However, a fortnight ago, the ruling Reform group announced, in a party capacity, that it planned to invest in the facilities to guarantee “continued stability and comfort for residents…for the years to come”.
Whilst that pledge seemingly removed any prospect of closure, the authority itself emphasised that its own official process had yet to conclude – sparking call from the main opposition leader, Azhar Ali, for an urgent item to be placed on Thursday’s cabinet agenda to clarify, amongst other things, that neither the care homes, nor the five day centres that also formed part of the review, would close.
County Cllr Atkinson told the cabinet gathering that he was providing the update after being warned in correspondence from a senior county council staff member that the “distress” being caused to care home residents and their families as a result of “the level of disinformation” surrounding the issue had “reached an unacceptable level”.
The unnamed figure was quoted as saying: “I am concerned that a line has been crossed…and it’s imperative that we address this urgently.”
The county council leader laid the blame for that at the door of senior opposition members whom he accused of having “politicised” the issue – something he said left him “disgusted”.
However, County Cllr Ali, who leads the Progressive Lancashire opposition alliance of independent and Green Party and councillors, blasted what he said was the “disingenuous” suggestion that the opposition had been “whipping up fury and lies, when the reality is the whole process started with the [review] document that was approved by the cabinet”.
It was that document, he said, that had set out the timetable for a potential “closure programme” for the care homes during 2026 – a blueprint that the authority has previously said was drawn up so that it was in a position to enact any future decision to close the homes, not to predetermine the review.
The heated exchanges came as County Cllr Atkinson read out a “briefing note” about the care home situation.
“We want to provide reassurance to all those affected by the ongoing review – we have analysed feedback from the consultation and, as a result, we have no intention to close any of the five care homes within this review,” he said.
The cabinet was then asked to “note” that it would receive a report in April with details of the consultation outcome, which would also set out “all the options” for the future of the facilities. A business case will follow in September to demonstrate how the chosen option will be realised. There will also be “ongoing engagement with stakeholders and potential partners to explore options for the services”, members were told.
A vote was then taken on the issue, which was unanimously supported, but which County Cllr Ali later dismissed as meaningless, telling the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “You don’t take votes on notes.”
At the meeting, he requested that the wording of the briefing paper be changed so that it read that the authority “will not close” any of the care homes – an amendment that he said would give “complete reassurance to the residents [and] their families”.
County Cllr Atkinson said that it had been the opposition that had caused alarm by saying that “these care homes are going to be closed”.
“It’s the opposition that have wheeled 90-odd-year-old residents out into public meeting[s]…[and] have politicised this consultation,” he added.
He also told the meeting that the government care minister, Stephen Kinnock MP, had “expressly welcomed the council’s decision to undertake a public consultation” – despite it not having an express duty to do so.
What about the day centres?
Asked by the LDRS about the absence of any reference in the briefing note to the five day centres also under review – and which have received neither a pledge of investment nor a promise that they would not be closed – County Cllr Atkinson said people should not read anything into that.
“We had to bring forward [the] statement [on the care homes] ahead of time to stop this scaremongering. The day centers are a different thing to the home you live in – it’s a different magnitude of concern.
“There’s been no decisions made on [the day] centers. It will all come back…at the relevant time,” he explained.
The daycare facilities under the microscope are: Byron View (Colne, attached to Favordale), Derby Centre (Ormskirk), Milbanke Day Centre (Kirkham, attached to Milbanke care home), Teal House, (Thornton Cleveleys, attached to Thornton House) and Vale View (Lancaster).
‘We did the right thing’
Speaking to the LDRS shortly before Thursday’s cabinet meeting, County Cllr Atkinson said he did not believe the review of the 10 care facilities could have been handled any differently – in spite of the furore that subsequently iblew up around it.
“We’re different – when we put a consultation out, we listen. I think the fact that 1,600 responses came back meant we did have to take more time to do that.
“We don’t go through a consultation as kind of a tick-box [exercise] – we want to look at it in detail and…learn and take into account these heartfelt responses.
“I think in the political environment that we’re in, where Reform is under an unprecedented level of scrutiny, we just have to accept that this is the world we live in where people will politicise things which shouldn’t be.
“So I don’t think there’s anything we could have done different, I’ve got to be honest. The Care Quality Commission have made it clear that our adult social care services are not good enough [they were rated as ‘requires improvement’ in 2025]…and that’s why we started this consultation.
“[To have the care minister] complement the [consultation] process that Lancashire County Council has gone through, I think just says that we’re doing the right thing,” County Cllr Atkinson said.
Pressed as to whether Reform had sowed confusion by issuing a party statement about plans to invest in the care homes – and so putting the ruling group ahead of the official review process that it had instigated at the council it controls – County Cllr Atkinson said such scenarios happen “all the time”, at both a local and national government level.
“If you look at Parliament, a prime minister will announce a policy that then goes through the formal process a number of months later. It’s not unique.”
‘They still can’t say it’
County Cllr Ali blasted Reform for what he said were its attempts “to try and blame others for a process that they’ve made a complete mess of”.
Talking to the LDRS after the cabinet gathering, he said that the fresh statement issued on having “no intention to close” any of the care homes under review was a recipe for “more chaos and confusion”.
“They cannot commit to saying that no care home will close – and there is no mention of day centers in today’s briefing note,” County Cllr Ali said.
Quizzed as to whether he accepted that the opposition’s own handling of the issue had created the fear and distress alluded to by the county council staffer quoted in the meeting by County Cllr Atkinson, he said “numerous officers” had also contacted him “concerned about the impact of this consultation and the damage it’s doing”.
“Had Stephen Atkinson and his cabal had the decency to go and talk to [care home residents and their families], they would have realised the damage and the stress they’ve caused to people and the impact on their health and wellbeing.
“We’ve fought a campaign on behalf of residents, their families, and thousands of people across Lancashire who were appalled at the thought of these care homes closing,” County Cllr Ali said.
Support Blog Preston: Keep our community reporting going and view the website without any adverts too. Sign up for a membership today.
Stay updated: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox. Help us report too, by contacting us if you see something we should be reporting on.
Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines
