£300k upgrade for care home set for demolition is defended

Published on Saturday 6 September 2008 10:35

COUNCILLORS have defended spending £300,000 on upgrading a care home which is set for demolition.

Owners of Greenfield Care Home in Musselburgh have applied to demolish it and replace it with a new home – just months after East Lothian Council signed a three-year lease.

The plans would increase capacity from 25 to 40 beds, but it would mean 21 elderly residents would face further disruption in three year's time. Most of them have already been moved this year following the closure of Cockenzie House Nursing Home.

Council officials have recommended approving Forth Care's plans for Greenfield Park, but councillors voted to defer a decision last week.

Councillor Ruth Currie, adult social services spokeswoman, defended the council's decision.

She said: "The planning application was lodged by Forth Care before we even started discussions about how we would use Greenfield Park. We had no choice but to upgrade the building – it was in a bad condition when we went in."

A Forth Care statement said: "A plan will be put in place to ensure the programme is handled with minimum disruption."

The application is now expected to be heard by the planning committee on October 7.