Hope for Rose, 102, over care home

Property developers who planned to bulldoze the residential care home of 102-year-old Rose Cottle have offered to pull out of the deal, it emerged today.

Miss Cottle went to Downing Street on Monday to lobby Tony Blair over plans to sell Borehamwood Care Village and develop the site into flats.

More than 90 elderly residents will be made homeless if a £3.5 million deal between owner Assured Care Centres (ACC) and property developer Bryant Homes goes ahead. ACC claims it cannot afford to keep the complex open.

However, Bryant has offered to pull out following a high-profile campaign by relatives and elderly residents including Miss Cottle and a meeting has been set up with a new prospective buyer who would keep the home open, the Evening Standard can reveal.

Barry Cottle, her nephew, said: "This is the first positive piece of news we have had in this campaign. I am absolutely delighted. This is an extremely reasoned approached from Bryant. There is no guarantee that ACC will go along with it, but this is the first step towards saving the home."

Bryan Mason, chairman of Stop, a campaign group set up to save the home, said: "The pressure is now on for ACC to agree to this."

Peter Gurr, managing director of Bryant Homes Eastern, said: "The decision to close Borehamwood Care Village and to sell the land for development was made by Assured Care Centres before Bryant Homes became involved as a potential buyer of the site. ACC informed us they would consult residents and their relatives about the closure. Bryant entered into a contractual agreement with ACC and applied for planning permission to develop the site."

But he added: "We understand the concern for the elderly residents and we have no wish to be part of any distress caused; therefore, we have asked the vendors to release Bryant from the agreement."

A spokesman for Bryant Homes said there had so far been no response from ACC to the offer.

Today, Hertfordshire County Council, which funds the care of the 25 residents, confirmed it has set up a meeting between ACC and a new prospective buyer on Thursday. Forest Healthcare Ltd is believed to have made an even higher offer for the complex and claims to be confident of making it profitable as a residential home.

The shortage of care home places means it would be difficult for the council to find alternative accommodation for its residents if the Care Village closed. A spokesman added: "There is very little slack in the system. It would have a tremendous impact on the other care homes in the area." Professor Patrick Carr, operations director of ACC, was unavailable for comment.