Candidate urges people to pledge cash for Holehird

10:44am Wednesday 4th February 2004

LEADING Liberal Democrat Tim Farron has backed the campaign to keep open the Holehird home in Windermere.

Holehird has been under threat since last October when national charity Leonard Cheshire announced that it would be pulling out of running the home, partly because it could not afford to upgrade it to comply with the Care Standards Act.

A group of people called New Holehird has come forward to form a steering group to try to raise £2.8 million to keep the house open, and allow the 24 residents to stay in their cherished home.

Mr Farron, who is the Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale, visited Holehird residents and campaigners to discuss the next steps in the campaign.

He has already delivered petition forms to 40,000 houses in the constituency, and encouraged local people to pledge financial support to the appeal to keep the home open.

He said: "The members of New Holehird have demonstrated a really impressive "can do" spirit and they deserve every success. However, it is a dreadful shame that Leonard Cheshire is not prepared to respond to the enormous well of protest to their decision."