Mayor of Lymington and Pennington, Cllr Jack Davies, urges residents to help save Solent Mead Care Home which is at risk of closure due to Hampshire County Council shake up

THE mayor of Lymington and Pennington has called on residents to support the campaign to save an under-threat care home following a “short-sighted proposal” by Hampshire County Council.

As reported in the A&T, Solent Mead in Church Lane could close under the plans to shake up the way HCC provides care for the elderly.

At a meeting of Lymington and Pennington Town Council on Wednesday members unanimously supported a motion to oppose the closure – which mayor Cllr Jack Davies said he was “proud” of.

Cllr Jerry King, who represents Buckland, said: “This council believes that closing Solent Mead will make it harder for elderly people in Lymington and Pennington who can't afford the kind of luxury 24-hour care provided by private care homes to access such care.

"We do not believe any new site, should it come forward in the next decade, will be close enough to our town to make up for the loss of Solent Mead.

"With an ageing population in Lymington and Pennington, it doesn't make sense."

The plans by HCC also include the closure of its Cranleigh Paddock site in Lyndhurst, which shut temporarily in 2021.

The council says it will build a new care home in the New Forest at a yet-to-be-determined location – part of an £173m investment over the next five to six years.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Davies said: "I'm proud that town councillors unanimously agreed to oppose the county council's short-sighted proposal to close down Solent Mead Care Home.

"In recent years, the county council closed our Sure Start Centre, cut our buses, and put parking meters in our High Street. Now they want to close down our care home. We've had enough.

“I urge all locals to join the campaign to save Solent Mead."

As reported in the A&T, a petition to save the home from closure has been launched by local resident Steven Lennox, who has family there.

Also against the plans is Linda Kemp, whose 100-year-old father who has vascular dementia, is a resident.

If the home does close he will face his second move in two years, having previously lived at Cranleigh Paddock for six years.

She told the A&T she felt “totally let down” by Hampshire County Council.

She said: “When the move to Solent Mead was discussed, at no time was I led to believe that the home they were recommending and actively encouraging me to choose would be under any threat of closure.

“Due to the detailed lengthy proposal submitted, this is clearly something that has been planned for a very long time, and I do not believe they would not have been aware of this.”

Urging action, she said: “All the people in Lymington need to oppose this proposal if they or their loved ones need residential care in the future.”

The council is running a ten week consultation from September as it looks to “transform and expand” care provision.

It plans to close a further five care homes across the county by 2026, with the only New Forest care home run by the council remaining open in Bickerley Green, Ringwood.