104 year old must move home

AN Uckfield man of 104 was last week forced to suffer the ordeal of moving home as Government red tape on residential homes claimed another victim.

The man, who does not wish to be named, was forced to leave Renroc Rest Home, Little Horsted, as it is to shut because of new crippling regulations.

Three other residents, aged between 93 to 100, must also find new accommodation before Renroc closes its doors for good in less than three months.

Renroc will become the third home to close in the Uckfield area in the last few months, after Wicklands in Little Horsted and the New Inn, Ridgewood, decided to cease operating because new laws on 'higher standards' were deemed impossible to achieve.

The manager of Renroc, Dawn Berry, said the elderly man was 'very tearful' when he left the residential home for the last time.

She said: 'He is a very "with it" gentleman and I think his family had pre-warned him. He was quite well prepared and understood the reasons he had to move but he was very sorry and very sad to leave, and he was very tearful. He told us he was very happy here and he was very sorry he had to move on.'

Mrs Berry's mother, Mary Corner, established Renroc 30 years ago with husband Ronald and both are still active in the home's operation. She said: 'He (the resident) was asking, "Will I be able to hang my pictures up in the new place?" and "Will the food be as good?" It's tragic but we can't do anything about it.'

Fortunate

Mrs Berry added: 'We have been forced to close because of national standards and not because of any other reason.

'It's fortunate that the gentleman has moved to an excellent home in Thornbury Residential Home (Hempstead Road, Uckfield) but these moves have been forced on the residents. They thought they had a place for life but now they find themselves being shunted around.

'We discussed the situation with all the families in the middle of last year when the standards came in as it was apparent there was no possibility we would be able to adapt.

'The adaption of a converted house, as this is, would have been enormous. We would have had to make all the rooms en suite and all the doors would have needed to be widened.

'We would have had to put up ramps inside and out, and a passenger lift would have had to be installed. It would have run in to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

'We have got a very good reputation. It wasn't as if we weren't successful.'

Renroc is officially closing on October 1 although Mrs Berry said she hoped to have secured alternative accommodation for the three remaining residents well before then.

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