REDUNDANCIES are not an option if a Narberth residential home closes, councillors have been told.

The future of Narberth’s Sunnybank Residential Home was discussed by members of the older persons scrutiny committee on Tuesday, January 21.

Angela Watwood, Pembrokeshire County Council’s head of community health and social services, gave a presentation.

Sunnybank is currently part of a consultation which asks interested parties: Why is it important? What concerns would you have if it closed? What are your ideas for its future?

The consultation began in November and is due to end on Friday, January 31.

Ms Watwood told the committee that 89 responses had been received so far, including those from residents, their families, staff, voluntary organisations and the health board.

Some of the main concerns raised were: Where would the residents go? Would the staff lose their jobs? Where would people go to receive respite care? Who would provide meals on wheels?

There were also concerns about the building should the home close, with many fearing it would be boarded up like the old school and become a blot on the landscape.

Ms Watwood said: “All of the residents and families have had one to one meetings with social workers during the consultation."

She also allayed fears about job losses should the home close. She said: “We would make every effort to redeploy staff, with redundancies not an option.”

She added: “Should the decision be to close there are formal processes to enter into, and we’ve been advised that it should not take more than three months.”

The home, which is owned and managed by the council, was built in the 1960’s and needs an estimated £2.6m worth of work to bring it up to standard.

It currently has nine residents and two day care service users, with a further 18 people accessing respite care. The council said that each resident place is costing the authority £1,000 a week - twice the cost of a place in a privately-run home.

There is still time to give your views. You can complete the questionnaire at www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/haveyoursay or email sunnybankconsult@pembrokeshire.gov.uk or telephone 01437 776000.