Agenda item

(a)               Proposed Closure of Manorbrooke, Cornfields and Sampson Court care homes for older people

(b)               Request for the re-opening of right-turns off the A256 from Sandwich towards Dover

(1)       The Chairman advised that, in accordance with Appendix 4 Part 2 of the Constitution, he had consented to this part of the meeting being filmed by the Kent Messenger Group.

(2)       The Chairman advised that the County Council had received four petitions that met the criteria for a debate at the County Council meeting, in accordance with the Petition Scheme adopted in July 2010. He explained that three of the petitions related to the proposed closure of the Manorbrooke, Cornfields and Sampson Court older person’s homes and that there would be a combined debate on those three petitions. The fourth petition related to a highways matter in the Dover District, which would be dealt with as a separate debate.

Proposed closure of the Manorbrooke, Cornfields and Sampson Court care homes for older people

(3)       The following individuals addressed the County Council meeting on the various petitions:

1. Mrs Yvette Knight – the lead petitioner for the Manorbrooke petition.
2. Mrs Penny Cole – the local Member for the Manorbrooke petition.
3. Councillor Wendy Bowman, Whitfield Parish Council – the lead petitioner for the Cornfields petition.
4. Mr Bryan Cope – the local Member for the Cornfields petition.
5. Mrs Hubble – the lead petitioner for the Sampson Court petition.
6. Mrs Julie Rook – the local Member for the Sampson Court petition.

(4)       The Chairman then opened the debate to the floor and a number of other Members spoke on the petitions.

(5)       In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 1.12 (2), the Chairman moved, the Vice Chairman seconded and it was:

Resolved: that the meeting be extended to no later than 5.00pm

(6)       The Chairman then invited the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Services, Graham Gibbens, to respond to the debate and describe how he intended to take the petitioners’ concerns forward. Mr Gibbens began by thanking the petitioners and Members for addressing the meeting on this important topic and stated that he completely understood the effect that the consultation process was having on residents and their family and friends.  Mr Gibbens also stressed that this consultation exercise was not primarily about money. He spoke about the way in which care was provided for older people in the future would change, with particular reference to the increasing number of 85+ year olds and people suffering from dementia and that the aim was to support, encourage and help people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. He stressed on several occasions that this was an ongoing consultation exercise and that no decisions had been taken. However, if a closure eventually took place, it would not happen until alternative arrangements were available and this would apply equally for residential care, respite care and day care. He also reassured the petitioners that no residents would be out of pocket; so if a resident wanted to remain with their friends but this meant moving to a higher cost home, this additional funding would not fall upon the resident. Mr Gibbens also stated that the idea floated by Mrs Rook that Sampson Court could be run as a social enterprise company by the local community was being actively investigated and that he would be happy to meet with Mrs Rook and others to explore this further. Finally, Mr Gibbens stated that he was appreciative of all of the speakers’ contributions, especially the petitioners and that he was encouraged by the massive interest shown, which was helpful to him. He assured the meeting that the views expressed by the petitioners and other speakers would be borne out in any decisions that are taken in the future.

Request for the re-opening of right turns off the A256 from Sandwich towards Dover

(7)       The following individuals addressed the County Council on the petition:

1. Councillor M Ovenden, Eythorne Parish Council and Lady Julia Pender, a Tilmanstone parishioner – the lead petitioners.
2. Mr S Manion – the local Member for the petition

(8)       The Chairman then opened the debate to the floor and a number of other Members spoke on the petition.

(9)       The Chairman then invited the Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste, Mr N Chard, to respond to the debate and describe how he intended to take the petitioners’ concerns forward. Mr Chard began by stating that he had listened with interest to the debate and that he would consider carefully to the real concerns that the community had about the road closures. In particular, he stated that it was vitally important to support and promote the rural economy in Kent. He also stated that he needed to balance the additional inconvenience of travelling an extra 1-2 miles, with the issue of safety. He highlight the County Council’s achievement under Target 59 of the ‘Towards 2010’ report, where KCC had worked together with the police and other partners to reduce the number of deaths and serious casualties from road accidents. He also mentioned the letter dated 9 April 2008 from Her Majesty’s Coroner for Kent, which had been circulated with the agenda, in which it was stated that the Coroner would be making a report under Rule 43 of the Coroners’ Rules 1984. A Rule 43 report was made where, in the opinion of the Coroner, action could be taken by the relevant authorities to prevent similar fatalities. Mr Chard concluded by saying that he would not make a decision on this matter today, but would take into account all of the information available to him, together with the comments made during the debate by the petitioners and Members before coming to a decision in due course.