12:33pm Thursday 30th August 2001
By Matthew Harris
THE son-in-law of an elderly resident in a South Bucks care home has spoken of his disgust after he was not made aware of the possibility of its closure.
The row has erupted after a Free Press article revealing that Banner Homes has received conditional planning permission to redevelop The Lawns Nursing Home in North Park, Gerrards Cross, into a three-storey building with ten flats and an underground car park.
The man, who has asked not to be named, has slammed Chiltern District Council.
He says it did not make residents and their relatives aware of conditional planning permission granted by the council for the site.
He said: "I think the planning authority should have notified everybody who lives in the home and all their relatives.
"My wife's mother is living there and has been there for seven months. We are worried where she will be able to go next.
"The first we knew about it was when we saw the article in the paper.
"There is a real shortage of care homes in this area.
"On ringing up the planning department at Amersham, they stated that they had done all the right things in law.
"The notice was found on the ground behind the fence at the care home."
Peter Heyden, chairman of Westview Ltd, which runs The Lawns, said: "There is a notice up in the home.
"We informed social services this had happened, but this does not change the situation and does not mean that we will sell it.
"We have not received an offer.
"We started negotiations on this at the end of last year."
A spokesman for Chiltern District Council said: "A sign did go up at the junction between Packhorse Road and North Park.
"It is not council policy to notify the residents of the home in a case such as this one."
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk