TRAFFORD Housing Trust has announced plans to demolish a care home in Sale, but has spared another in Hale from closure.

The Trust announced earlier this year a review in to the future of three of its sheltered housing schemes and told residents of each site on Monday the outcome.

Wellgreen Lodge in Hale will remain open, with plans announced to improve the existing site. But Palace Road care home in Sale will be demolished to make way for a new £8m ‘extra care’ scheme.

While government funding would be required for the new home - an annoucement on which not epecteed until August - the Trust says if it can secure the money all current tenants will be found suitable alternative accommodation during the rebuild, and has pledged to make a ‘home loss’ compensation payment of around £4,000 to each resident. Existing tenants would also be given priority to move into the new home if they meet the basic criteria of having one hour of care per week.

At Waterside Court in Flixton residents have been told further investigation is needed in to the viability of their scheme, which will be undertaken by an external agency, and there scheme is safe for at least another 12 months.

Jane McCall, Director of Delivery at Trafford Housing Trust, said: “We want our older tenants to be able to live in modern schemes with a thriving sense of community, complemented with the level of support they would like to see from a scheme manager.

“The conclusions of our further review work into the three schemes reflect that commitment. We have been open with our tenants and stressed at every stage that there were no foregone conclusions in the further review work.

“We are pleased to be in a position to announce that Wellgreen Lodge will stay open and that we will be looking at ways to improve it further. Our preferred option for Palace Road also reflects our commitment to bringing more state-of the-art facilities for older people to the borough.”

But residents at Palace Road were horrified by the news. Resident of nearly four years, widow Pat Bushell, 83, said: “It’s making people ill, it really is. I don’t want to leave, this is the best place I’ve stayed at. We’re like a family here and we all look after each other.

“People wish they’d never agreed to leave the council and go with the Trust,” she added.