Guernsey care home rebuild plans released "Residents upset" .. Update

The plans include self-contained flats, communal lounges, a restaurant and activity rooms
Plans to rebuild two of Guernsey's residential care homes have been released.

The new accommodation at Longue Rue House and Maison Maritaine will be built next to the existing homes, which will eventually be demolished.
The Housing Department said the homes were no longer fit for purpose for the more than 100 residents they car for.
Residents are expected to be able to move into the new accommodation in three years.
The first phase of the development on each site will include enough new flats to accommodate all existing residents.
The homes will be built as "extra care" housing and include self-contained flats, communal lounges, a restaurant, activity rooms and a hairdressing salon.
Residents have been told they can expect the same level of care, but can choose to live independently if they wish.
The proposals are similar to the only other housing scheme of its type at Rosaire Avenue in St Peter Port.
The proposals also include building a new day centre at the Maison Maritaine site. (from BBC)

I for one am delighted at these plans they have been in the back of the states burner since the 1990s .
as the islanders have more pensioners they need to make accommodation available for all ..
And also well done for good housekeeping!

Kat - I will pass that compliment on to my mother in law who works there as a housekeeper!

i am delighted about this to...i see this is another development being handed over to the GHA..i wonder how long before all states housing has been handed over .

We did say this years ago when they first decided to have GHA .it looks like it is heading that way why pay two lots of hight wages for ghousing department when they can both be joined into one

we sure did kat and it is looking so much like we were right x

we sure did kat and it is looking so much like we were right x

Shocked tenants of States homes in Guernsey are reeling after being told they will have to move to make way for a new care home.

Around 20 people are being forced out of their homes for the redevelopment of the Maison Maritaine care home, which is moving to a new site.

One resident has branded the decision "disgusting".

But Housing officials say they will find new homes for those tenants, and insist the move is a price worth paying.

The current Maison Maritaine site will move to a new site by the current buildings, which will eventually be knocked down.

It is part of a three-year redevelopment, along with Longue Rue House.

The small, cramped rooms, and out-dated facilities will be replaced with more spacious and private accomodation for elderly islanders.

News of the project was met by applause from residents when it was announced last week.

But for some of Maison Maritaine's neighbours, it has been difficult news to take in because they will have to lose their homes to make way for the new larger Maison Maritaine care home.

Many of them are still in shock, as they were only told a few days ago that they would be moving.

At present, they do not yet know to where they will be moved, or what their new homes will look like.

The people living in the Courtil le Clement bungalows like their homes, their gardens, and the green space around them.

Coutil Le Clement resident, Barbara Holland, said: "Disgusting. Because they're lovely little bungalows and why should they be knocked down when they could do Maison Maritaine, I agree, Maison Maritaine needs redevelopment but why knock down perfectly good houses.

"I won't go anywhere that I don't want to go, I'd stay here. They'd have to throw me out or take me out in a box, it's one of the two."

Some have lived there for at least seven years.

Tenants in the Old Vale Rectory are also being re-housed elsewhere and have been told the inside of the building will be gutted.

But Housing officials say moving them, and tearing down their homes, is a price worth paying, as the improved care homes will provide a much better quality of life for the many islanders who use them in the future.

Housing Minister, Deputy Dave Jones, said: "It is a two-phase, three-phase, four-phase programme and unfortunately, yes, some people will have to move. Now I am saddened about that but you know, I can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." (from CTV)

As long as they make an omelette and not "scrambled eggs"!

I think Omelettes and Eggs are a bit of a silly metaphor when you are talking about an older generation being pushed out of their houses........Dave Jones should look at the bigger picture and imagine how he would feel if he was put in in the same situation,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, which I don't image he ever will be!!!

who's houses?

The lady who was interviewed has only been there a few years .her home and garden is immaculate and she is a very good neighbour .
I do feel that knocking down the bungalows is not a good idea ,as they are in very good condition .would they replace these on the old Maritaine site perhaps?
But where are all these folks from the home and bungalows going while this work is in progress?
Perhaps the land they are now clearing in the Grand Bouet will be made into a new Rodley Park?
I have written to the press about this in the early 2000 .
just hope they remember putting elderly close to shopping area would help take many off the roads with cars as it is with in walking distance to some .
we need to look at the bigger picture and make sure there is a plan in place for these who will loose their homes .
they also knocked down some beautiful bungalows in 1999ish at the back of the Delancey estate.
they need to replace this kind of accommodation .
the new home they will be building are these going to be sold to the tenants as well?
And is there still going to be a nursing home for those who need it?

ah haa ....not te only states home lookin to be knocked down n redone ..shhh ya didnt hear it from me ok

Yes we know there are two being knocked down .

i know one of the guys living there who only moved in just over a year ago when he was moved from the grand bouet..he is right when he says that housing do pay for nthe move etc..it doesnt come down to that in this situation ..they are moving in most cases very elderly residents from a small community that they have lived in for possibly many many years...so sad people have to have this upheavel so late in life ....

Spirit wrote:who's houses?

If you live in rented accommodation you usually refer to it as 'our/my home' you do not refer to it as the house that I rent from Mr or Mrs so and so! (at least I didn't when I lived in rented places) and while they are there with their friends and neighbours around them and their own belongings - I believe they pay rent, so are entitled to call them theirs......moving house is the third most stressful thing (death and divorce being nos 1 and 2) and the older you get the more stressful it becomes. Not a nice thought in your later years!!

Exactly, a difference between houses and homes.

" If you live in rented accommodation you usually refer to it as 'our/my home' you do not refer to it as the house that I rent from Mr or Mrs so and so! "


really karma ?

when i lived in rented accommodation on and off from the age of 19 i always referred to it as just that and not as "my" home, knowing that sometime in the future i would get booted out or leave and move on..

A home is where your heart is ..so you never put your roots down in any then

The Gimp wrote:" If you live in rented accommodation you usually refer to it as 'our/my home' you do not refer to it as the house that I rent from Mr or Mrs so and so! "


really karma ?

when i lived in rented accommodation on and off from the age of 19 i always referred to it as just that and not as "my" home, knowing that sometime in the future i would get booted out or leave and move on..

I was with my husband and two children in rented accommodation and to me it was home as we were a family unit.....................

i live in a states house,i pay rent and it is my home....before anybody jumps on it i am grateful to the taxpayer of guernsey for my home...so a big thank you to all of you..

I also live in a states house ,pay my rent ,keep the house clean and tidy and well maintained and the garden is also kept in good condition
I am also very grateful for this home .