THE future of Edenside residential care home in Appleby is the subject of a consultation launched today by Cumbria County Council.

The home was flooded in December 2015 and residents were evacuated to vacant residential care home premises in Penrith.

Since then the building has been suspended from use as the council has worked to understand the scale of the damage, the repair required and the risk of further flooding in future.

Now a 60-day consultation will gather views from the residents who were impacted by the floods, their families and the local community about whether to reopen the care home, or to permanently close it.

The decision to consult reflects the concerns the council has about future flood risk and the risk this would pose to residents were the home to re-open.

All consultation documents can be found at cumbria.gov.uk/haveyoursay and people are encourage to respond online if possible.

Consultation documents can also be found in Appleby and Penrith libraries and other local venues. An independent advocacy organisation will work with those directly affected by the situation to ensure their views are captured as part of the consultation.

The council will also be hosting a series of four local drop-in events during the consultation where people can come along and find out more. All take place at Appleby library: • Monday July 11, 2pm to 7pm • Wednesday July 20, 4pm to 7pm • Friday July 29, 10am to 1pm • Wednesday August 3, 2pm to 5pm The deadline for responding to the consultation is August 30.

Cllr Beth Furneaux, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said: “This is an issue which has generated strong feelings locally and we recognise that. As a provider of care we have a responsibility to ensure our services are safe and that individuals in our care are not put at risk. We want to consult fully so we can understand all the different issues relevant to a decision about the home’s future. I’d encourage all those with an interest to read the consultation documents and let us know their views.”