MORE than 50 people attended a public meeting tonight to raise concerns about the future of two cares homes for elderly people.

Bolton Council owns and runs two care homes — Wilfred Geere Care Home in Farnworth and Laburnum Lodge in Breightmet — and launched a consultation in June as part of its efforts to cut costs across the town.

But relatives of people living at the homes are fearful that residents could be forced to move and are concerned about the increasing demand for care homes as the number of elderly people in Bolton rises.

Campaigner Christina Taylor, whose terminally-ill husband, Ken, receives care at Wilfred Geere, told the meeting: “The residents of these homes have paid all their lives for the care they receive. Some are still paying with their life savings. We need council-run homes. We need them now and we need them in the future.”

The Reverend Tony Cowell, from the Five Saints Team in Farnworth, added: “These people need supporting. No-one lives in these homes because they want to be there. They are there because they need to be there.

“We want assurances that these homes will be staying open.”

But council leader, Councillor Cliff Morris, denied that the homes were under threat.

He said: “The only guarantee I can give you is that we have never said we will close these homes. That was never our intention.

“The intention was to have a review of the provision right across the spectrum for older people, whether it is in a care home, a residential home or their own homes.”

Read more in tomorrow's edition of The Bolton News.