'Much-loved' care home on edge of Yorkshire Dales set to close

Two years ago, the county council agreed to draw up options for the ageing council-run nursing home, amid fears that without significant investment it would no longer be fit-for-purpose.

According to a report that will go before the council’s Conservative executive on Tuesday (Jun 13), the council considered an expensive £3m upgrade of the building but instead has decided to invest in extra care homes in Gargrave that better support independent living.

Extra care describes developments that include self-contained homes with design features and support services available to residents. The council has already invested £2.5m to establish four extra care housing schemes in the Craven area with 211 units fully occupied.

The report notes that 57 people across Craven have expressed an interest in living in an extra care home including 27 in Skipton and Gargrave.

The new development at Eshton Road is expected to become operational from 2026. The council says it expects the move will save it £150,000 a year. The council said it employs 26 staff at Neville House and they will be consulted about their future with alternative employment due to be offered within the authority “wherever possible.”

Neville House has been closed to new permanent admissions since March 2022 in anticipation of the move towards extra care. It currently has seven remaining patients. It’s expected that Neville House will close in the autumn with all residents offered places at another council-run home in Skipton.

North Yorkshire Council’s Conservative executive member for health and adult services, Cllr Michael Harrison, said: “The way we care for older and disabled people is changing in North Yorkshire as we work to help people live independently in their own homes for longer.

“Extra Care has been an enormous success over the past 20 years and our ambition is that Gargrave will now get one of these developments. We are also seeing an expansion of home care services locally, which is good news.

“These changes reduce the demand for traditional residential care homes and that, along with the outdated design and fabric of the building, mean that Neville House is no longer viable. We will work carefully to support each of the Neville House residents with the move to a new home. And we want to thank our staff and to help them move into new roles in social care.

“I recognise that Neville House is a much-loved part of the Gargrave community and we believe that a new Extra Care scheme will be a fitting 21st century successor to it. We look forward to talking with local people about our plans and how we can bring them to fruition.”