MP launches petition to stop Towcester care home closure

A MP has launched a petition to save a care home, saying the threat of closure was causing distress to residents.

Ridgway House in Towcester, Northamptonshire, has 17 residents occupying the 25 available rooms.

West Northamptonshire Council's cabinet will discuss a recommendation to close it at a meeting on Tuesday.

MP for South Northamptonshire, Dame Andrea Leadsom, said staff and residents "share a profound concern about the potential closure".

The council said the building was more than 40 years old and would not meet current Care Quality Commission (CQC) accessibility requirements for newly built care homes.

A CQC inspection of Ridgway House in 2022 concluded that it "requires improvement".

It has 35 rooms, but the first floor is not accessible to people with some care and support needs, lowering capacity to 25.

Conservative Dame Andrea said she had recently visited the care home, meeting the residents and "dedicated staff", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"Many of the residents have strong local ties and deep-rooted connections to Towcester, making the prospect of relocation a source of considerable distress," she said.

The MP's petition on her website said the "upgrades needed to the home for the next decade would require £1million of investment".

But it said "that this could be good value relative to the cost of building a new care home".

West Northamptonshire Council held a consultation into the closure of Ridgway House last year, which had more than 180 responses.

Matt Golby, cabinet member for adult social care and public health at the authority, said closure was recommended after "a review of the options available".

He said the council would work to find residents "a suitable, alternative setting that is right for them and their needs".

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