A COUNCILLOR has said that residents deserve better after the county council failed to provide any answers about the fate of a care home that was closed more than a year ago.

As previously reported, Copper Beeches assisted living home, in Woodlands Way, was temporarily closed in 2021 due to “workforce challenges”.

At the time when the care home, along with Cranleigh Paddock in Lyndhurst, was closed, the Hampshire County Council said they would remain closed "at least until the summer of 2022". But the executive member for adult services and public health, Cllr Liz Fairhurst, vowed in December 2021 that no care home in Hampshire will be closed down.

Test Valley Borough councillor for Andover St Mary’s, Cllr Iris Andersen had previously spoken out, asking for answers on the future of the site, which she believes has “potential”, even if not for the same purpose it served before. 

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The county council has said before that discussions were “ongoing”, but that steps were being taken to manage the unoccupied building - such as shutting off the water supply and redirecting mail - ”should not be taken as a precursor to permanent closure”.

Now more than a year on the Advertiser asked the county council for an update but the answer has come as a worry for Cllr Anderson, and fails to provide any answers.

A council spokesperson said: “Copper Beeches was temporarily closed due to exceptional workforce challenges which meant concentrating our available care staff across services in a slightly different way. These challenges remain and therefore regrettably, for now, the home remains closed. Despite this, there are no plans for this to be permanent, and we would like to assure the local community that we are continuing to keep a very close eye on how we respond to staffing pressures and the delivery of care locally.”

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Reacting to the statement, Cllr Anderson added: "I could not believe the update from the council. I am sorry but the way I feel is that the people of Andover deserve a better answer than this. Plus the fact we know that there is a problem with getting care staff and everything but Copper Beeches has been closed for some time now.

"The way I look at it is that it could be a home where residents could go for respite care and a place families could rely on to look after their relatives. I am really worried and concerned because how long is this going to go on? I know that the staff who worked there absolutely loved their job. It is a beautiful calm place and it is sad to see it closed for so long."