Lib Dems Accuse Tories of Exporting Edenham Elderly

7.32.16pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 9th Oct 2006

Local campaigners warn of "a wholly unpleasant situation"

The Kensington and Chelsea Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservative-controlled Borough Council of embarking on a policy which will see the elderly residents of Edenham Care Home "exported" to other Boroughs.

The Home, in Elkstone Road, North Kensington, is due for closure after the Council claimed it is too outdated.

Peter Kosta, a Lib Dem candidate who forced the Tories into third place in May's Council Elections in the Colville ward which neighbours Edenham, says he is concerned that closing the home and moving its current residents to new lodgings "may be a cost covering exercise". Kosta says he has written to Councillor Fiona Buxton, Cabinet member for Housing Services and Adult Social Care, to ask if the home could be renovated instead so that residents can remain in the place they are comfortable.

He explains: "I campaigned in the North of Kensington during May's Council Elections. Many people who live at the end of the Borough believe that Edenham's closure is part of an ongoing trend to put resources into the Chelsea end of the Borough at the expense of the North Kensington end.

"We cannot understand why refurbishment for Edenham has not been considered as a serious option. It could either take place during the temporary rehousing of the residents elsewhere, or as part of a planned updating programme, spreading the cost over several years.

"As I understand it, Edenham's Day Centre is also under threat despite the plaudits it has won from the Audit Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate.

"If Edenham closes there will only be only one public older persons' home within the Borough," Kosta says, referring to Thamesbrook in Dovehouse Street at the southern end of the Borough.

"Being so far away from their community in North Kensington would be bad enough for Edenham's residents, but I worry that some will have to move out of the Borough altogether," says Kosta, who issues a stark warning:

"The Council will then be seen to be exporting its poor elderly from North Kensington to other Boroughs - a wholly unpleasant situation."