AS THE campaign to fight plans by the City of York Council to convert a York old people's home into flats moves up a gear, one of the elderly pensioners living at the complex has spoken out for the first time.

Marjorie Walters, 75, one of 15 tenants in sheltered housing flats adjoining Barstow House Elderly People's Home, said she could not bear the thought of the community she had settled into being broken up.

She spoke of her fears as it was revealed that residents' relatives will be holding their first campaign meeting to fight the plans on February 17 at Clementhorpe Community Centre, in Lower Ebor Street. It will be attended by representatives from Age Concern and Unison.

Mrs Walters, who suffers from osteoporosis and athritis, and lost the use of her left eye in 1986, moved into her flat in 1996 after being burgled twice.

She said staff rang her room every morning to check if she was all right, and she could call them any time between 7am and 10pm. In addition, hot meals were laid on and visitors could only enter by speaking to a member of staff.

But when the home is converted, entry will be by individual buzzers connected to each flat and she was very worried about security.

"I go over to the home to chat to residents and staff and it's like one big happy family," she said.

"Many of the residents will not be capable of moving back in after the work and there are very few of them that haven't been born and bred in this area - they've been neighbours all their life."

Mrs Walters' 52-year-old daughter, Marjorie, who has been ill since she was 18, lives in Haysthorne House Residential Home in Holgate Road, close to Barstow House, and her son, Harry, lives in Australia.

"In 20 or 30 years' time the baby- boom generation born after the war - like my daughter - will be my age and where are they all going to live if they need care?" Mrs Walters added: "We've been told vacancies will be found for all the flats tenants during the building work - but if the council can re-house us at the drop of a hat, why do they need to convert Barstow House to flats?" Coun Bob Fletcher, chairman of the Social Services Committee, said that after the conversion, flats tenants would have access to a full range of social and health services between 9am and 9pm, and there would be an emergency warden call-out system for the rest of the time.

"More people are living longer, but the evidence is they're remaining more able for longer and the provision of residential homes is not what's required."

He said some upheaval was inevitable during the building work and any residents who were not able to move back to Barstow House would have a choice of residential homes to go.

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