A MODERN care home that closed last year should be “resurrected” by the council, says a former Conservative councillor.

The owners of Amelia House in Rawcliffe announced it was shutting down in August 2018 due to problems recruiting staff.

Peter Dew, who was a ward councillor for Rawcliffe and Clifton Without until losing his seat in the election on May 3, is now pressing for the council to reopen the care home.

He said there is an “ever increasing need” for nursing home places and the council has a role to play: “As a council, we received unjustified criticism for closing care homes but there is no reason why we should not have taken over a perfectly sound, purpose-built home to compensate.

“My mother, who lived in York all her life, died from Alzheimer’s in 2005. Her last three years were a living hell for her – not only from the effects of the condition but also because no care home in York could be found which could accommodate her and she was moved to a home in Doncaster – with City of York Council paying the care costs.”

The council found new accommodation for all residents who lived in Amelia House when it closed.

Mr Dew said the idea for the council to take over the facility only emerged during the election campaign when it was too late for the Conservatives to put plans into action, and that the purchase could be a similar investment to the council’s property portfolio but would also offer care staff a “secure living wage”.

Moorlands Care Home in Strensall, another independent nursing home, announced it was shutting last September.

A spokesman for the new Liberal Democrat and Green Party coalition at the council said they were unable to comment on the proposals.