Shaws Wood to be Sold as Predicted by Labour

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On the agenda for Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting is the proposed sale of both the Shaws Wood and Lennox Wood sites.  The Labour Group had always insisted that this was the Tory administration’s plan, despite their denials.
Residents of Shaws Wood were greatly upset when they were suddenly decanted just before Christmas 2006.  Labour protested against the move with the unions and staff, and raised petitions against its sale.
Since then, there has been a catalogue of U-turns from the Tories, on job losses, redevelopment of the site, and now its eventual sale.
Cllr Teresa Murray, Labour Spokesperson for Community Services, said,
“At every step of the way, we have said that the Tories’ plans have been to sell off the land for a capital receipt, that care facilities would be lost, and that people would lose their jobs.  The Tories have said that we’re ‘misleading’, ‘mischief-making’, have ‘twisted minds’ and are spreading ‘scare stories’.”
“But here we are- residents were distraught when they were forced out, there are virtually no care or respite beds on the Strood side of the river, eleven people lost their jobs, the Tories gave back the £30 million for their phantom care home, and now the land’s being sold off to fund the Tories’ debt.”
“This is one of the most shameful episodes in Medway’s history.  The Tories have repeatedly promised the earth and delivered absolutely nothing.”
Cllr Stephen Hubbard, Labour ward member for Strood North, said,
“In Spring of last year I handed in a petition, signed by over 300 Strood residents, which objected to the sale of the Shaws Wood site because older people in Strood and Frindsbury are being denied the right to a local, council-run day centre and residential service.  It called on Medway Council not to sell Shaws Wood and asked for the site to be developed for the use of older people.  The correspondence from the Council failed to put aside the impression that Tories had every intent to sell the land for a private housing development - nothing to do with social care of our older residents.  And a year down the line, here we are.”
ENDS

For further comment please contact Cllr Teresa Murray on 01634 409486 or Mobile:07855 378043, or Cllr Stephen Hubbard on 07887 714757.  Alternatively contact the Group office on 01634 332393.

Notes to Editor

1. From the Cabinet papers:

Lennox Wood and Shaws Wood
6.3 These property assets can either be retained or sold. If they are sold, capital receipts will be obtained, which the Council can use towards funding service priorities/reducing debt

10.3 That Cabinet recommends to full Council that the site of Lennox Wood,
Twydall is declared surplus to enable the Assistant Director of Housing and Corporate Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance, to dispose of it at best consideration using delegated powers.

10.4 That Cabinet recommends to full Council that the site of Shaws Wood, Strood is declared surplus to enable the Assistant Director of Housing and Corporate Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance, to dispose of it at best consideration using delegated powers.

2. Medway Standard, 5th December, 2006
“Shaws Wood will very definitely remain in the public sector.  It is mischief making and misleading to suggest otherwise.  Shaws Wood is to be completely rebuilt to provide a state of the art, council run facility for caring for Medway’s older people.”
Medway Council spokesman

      Medway Messenger, 18th December, 2006
“As part of the overall provision of improved care in Medway the substandard accommodations at Shaws Wood, Strood, is also going to be updated and modernised.  More good news.  Opposition parties couldn’t care less about older people in Medway, and it was the Conservatives who voted the improvements through.”
Cllr Alan Jarrett

      Medway Messenger, 23rd March, 2007
“A senior councilor has refused to apologise after wrongly saying there would be no redundancies after the closure of Shaws Wood home.  Cllr Tom Mason had insisted in print that no-one would be made redundant when the Shaws Wood home closed.”

Cllr Bill Esterson: “There are concerns that the plans for Shaws Wood will be scrapped and the site sold off for capital receipts.  It could be a cheap ploy to get the Conservatives through the elections.”
“That is very cynical.  You are spreading a scare story in front of the press that we are going to close Shaws Wood and sell it off.  You have a twisted mind.  You have no right to come along here with a scare story with no evidence to support it.”
Cllr Ken Bamber