CARE home plans have come under the spotlight, after a week which saw City of York Council approve a controversial scheme in one part of the city but turned away from another option elsewhere.

On Thursday, senior city councillors agreed to sell the old Willow House care home near Walmgate to student housing developer Empiric - even though a care home developer had also bid for the site.

Just a day earlier a planning committee had given the green light to Crown Care’s plans to demolish the Carlton Tavern pub in Acomb, replacing it with a new care home.

At the meeting, campaigners spoke of their anger that green space near Willow House - already scarce in that corner of the city centre - could be lost to the community because it has been included in the old care home plot.

Guildhall councillors Denise Craghill and James Flinders both asked ruling councillors to defer the decision, and take time to consult with residents over the future of the land.

Even though the small patch near Walmgate Bar is technically part of Willow House, it has been open for people to walk dogs, play football, and enjoy the open air, they added.

However, council director Neil Ferris said the land had clearly been included in the plot when councillors approved the sale plan in February. He also said there were “significant pressures” on student housing in York which a new complex on the Willow House site would ease.

Although a care home developer had offered £2.3 million for the site - £500,000 less than the student homes’ bid - there would be no guarantee a home would be built if councillors tried to take that option, he added.

Meanwhile, the decision to sell to Empiric angered Carlton Tavern campaigners. Speaking after the meeting Acomb resident Louise Ennis said: “The sacrifice of their history, character and community meeting place made by the people of Acomb to provide 74 care home places for the city will be wiped out instantly by the sale of another council-owned care home for student accommodation, announced this week.”