COUNCIL chiefs are “looking for reasons to close” the Bodlondeb care home, a councillor has warned ahead of a consultation into the future of the facility.

Cllr Alun Lloyd Jones, the chair of the healthier communities scrutiny committee, insisted that he had doubts over whether there was the desire within the social services department to find a way to keep a council-operated care home in Aberystwyth.

The committee was meeting on Friday to discuss the future of Bodlondeb care home.

Around 30 members of the public had attended to hear the plans being discussed.

The committee heard that to bring the home up to regulations on room sizes and carry out other necessary work it would cost an estimated £3m. Members were also told that the building of a brand-new 50-bed home was also likely to cost £3.1m.

Sue Darnbrook, the strategic director for social services, said the authority would struggle to find capital funding of that scale, and she warned that changes were needed at Bodlondeb to ensure rooms met minimum size standards of being 12 square metres or 13 square metres for people in wheelchairs. She said continuing with the home in its current condition was not possible.

The scrutiny committee called for a consultation on “the future of Bodlondeb” rather than a consultation aimed at closure.

Members also called for a 12-week consultation, rather than the usual eight weeks, because of the summer holidays.

They agreed to recommend a temporary stop on admissions to Bodlondeb while the consultation was on-going, and they called for residents to be given advocates to represent them.

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