A group of concerned people have been in touch to say that Abbeyfield House in Bude may be threatened with closure.

A consultation on its closure was announced to staff and residents of the home this week.

ITV West Country News has highlighted two other Abbeyfield homes, at Falmouth and St Austell in Cornwall, that are also threatened with closure. This is a huge shock for residents, their friends and families, staff and volunteers. Today, the BBC has added others to the list, so up to seven altogether could be destined for closure: these include Manor Gardens in Camelford, Lockington Avenue and Dunstone Road in Plymouth, and Trehill Road in Ivybridge.

For Bude, Abbeyfield House on Burn View is a unique sheltered housing scheme for local people over 55, many of whom are elderly and vulnerable in a variety of ways. The home provides meals and communal space, but everyone has their own front door and a degree of independent living within a supported environment. It even allows pets, the most recent arrival being a cockatoo! It is their home and many currently living there consider each other as family.

The Abbeyfield Society is a not-for-profit charity. It states it is struggling to maintain and upgrade all its properties to acceptable standards. Like other similar settings, it has been impacted by energy prices, Covid, inflation, staff shortages, etc., and Bude is one of the places they are consulting on about closure. This is a problem sadly occurring in many charity-run homes around the country.

If you want to chip in and have your say now, directly, you can contact the Abbeyfield Society on consultation@abbeyfield.com

Do mention Abbeyfield House, Bude, specifically in your comments and be polite in helping residents of this much-valued service.