In April Cheshire East’s children and families committee voted to close its school meals service in 2025. No mention was made during the meeting that this would mean the closure of the restaurants for elderly people living in the extra care facilities at Oakmere in Handforth and Willowmere in Middlewich.
The Oakmere residents told me how this would affect them.
AN ELDERLY woman who recently suffered a stroke and whose hands are crippled with arthritis cried as she explained she could no longer cook her own meals.
Her friend broke down in tears as she told me her husband was on end-of-life care and relied on his restaurant meals, which are delivered to him in the flat by his carer.
These are just two of the 70 Oakmere residents who say their lives have been turned upside down since Cheshire East sent them a letter last month saying the restaurant at their extra care complex will be closed from January 3.
“We bought this flat for the main reason there was a restaurant to come to because I can’t cook anymore and if they take that away I’ve got nothing,” said the lady who has recently had a stroke.
Another said: “I’ve been here 14 years and we’ve eaten in here every day since. It’s desperately needed.”
We were speaking in the restaurant where several residents had come down to air their views.
But the school meals service has been running at a loss and the council has been subsidising it, which is why it is to close.
The residents have had one meeting with Cheshire East since that decision was taken – the council cancelled the second one the day before it was due to take place.
Instead, they were sent a letter which stated: “The School Catering Service has now formally engaged with staff and proposes to wind down its operations at Oakmere by January 3, 2025.”
One elderly man told me: “I can't use a microwave. I can't use the cooker. I’ll have to have carers come in and do it for me, and that's going to cost me extra.”
Beryl Chapman, who is chair of the residents’ association, has lived at Oakmere for 12 years.
She is leading the fight to keep the restaurant open but says she can’t get a straight answer out of Cheshire East, which, she adds, talks about ‘alternative provision’ but can’t say what that might be.
“Once this is closed down, and they take the bits and pieces out of the kitchen and whatever, it's not going to open again,” she said.
“We need to get something done before they close it, get something in place.
“Closing the restaurant will kill this place.
“Our lives will be changed irreparably. There’s 70 people live here, and it will definitely have an impact on nearly every one of us.”
“We meet here. We come here for lunch. It's not just us, the community too,” she said.
The residents say originally the council said it was closing the service at the end of March, now they’ve been told the beginning of January.
“There’s the social side and the mental health side,” said Beryl. “And the food, of course. You're getting one good, nutritious meal a day without worrying about it.”
The restaurant is also open to the local community and some outside residents enjoy visiting for their meals.
Two women, in their 80s and 90s, told me they visited every Sunday for lunch.
The older one said: “We're not residents, but we come on a Sunday because we like meeting friends here, and it's a lovely dinner, lovely social occasion.
“We both live on our own, so it's a nice place to come.”
Josie Bourner, secretary of the residents’ association, has written to Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer and Tesco, so desperate are the residents to keep their restaurant and little community going.
“I’ve asked them if they can come here and open a café, to look at putting a small shop outside,” she said.
“People could come in and it benefits the community, because we are a community, aren't we?”
Cheshire East Council statement
The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Cheshire East when it planned to meet with residents and also questioned its figures as, in the letter to residents, the council stated it intends reducing its subsidy for the restaurant from £330,000 to £30,000 – and £330,000 seemed a lot for one restaurant.
A Cheshire East Council spokesperson said: “The council is aware of the concerns raised by residents at Oakmere Extra Care regarding the proposed closure of the restaurant.
“We understand the importance of the restaurant to residents, both for social interaction and as a source of essential meals.
“We are committed to working with residents and staff to find a solution that meets the needs of everyone.
“While the council is proposing to take the difficult decision to reduce the budget allocation for subsidising the restaurant, we are currently exploring options to provide alternative meal services.”
“The council is continuing to explore an alternative solution should the restaurant close on January 3. It is working diligently to ensure a smooth transition and minimise disruption to residents.
“An alternative service is being considered for the period of January 3 and March 31, 2025, which will provide hot meals to residents who rely on the restaurant.
“The details of this service will be communicated to residents directly once the staff consultation has concluded.
“A council representative will visit Oakmere to provide an update on the situation and address any concerns residents may have. The timing of this visit will be confirmed shortly.”
With regard to the subsidy question, the council said: “The £330,000 figure represents the total budget allocation for subsidising the restaurant at Oakmere, Willowmere and Beechmere.
“The school catering service had not generated sufficient income to cover its costs and so the council had been subsidising the service.
“The removal of the school catering subsidy was in the 2024 to 2028 MFTS. This did not include the subsidy for Oakmere and Willowmere.
“We appreciate the concerns raised and assure residents that their well-being remains the council’s top priority and will continue to work closely with the community to find a sustainable solution that meets the needs of all residents.”
The LDRS has since asked Cheshire East why it is subsiding a restaurant at Beechmere at Crewe, which burned down on August 8, 2019.
The response was it was a budget line that was underspent every year with the expectation Beechmere would be rebuilt.
Statement from Your Housing, which runs Oakmere.
Paula Marshall, executive director of housing and customer service at Your Housing Group said:
“At Your Housing Group, we’re focussed on ensuring that our residents are happy and healthy – their safety and wellbeing is our number one priority”.
“We have been working closely with the local authority to source local providers to offer alternatives at both Oakmere and Willowmere.
“Following the closure of the restaurant at our Hollymere (Ellesmere Port) site, we successfully managed to source a new provider, Peoples Pantry, a charitable organisation and we are pleased to say that they will also be operating the restaurant at Hazelmere (Winsford) from January 2025.
“Regretfully, at present, there is no update on whether something similar will happen at the restaurants at Oakmere and Willowmere.
“However, any resident with a lunch requirement as part of their care package will continue to receive this via the on-site carers preparing the meal for the individual, as has been the case at Hazelmere and Hollymere whilst their service was closed.
“We have also been working closely with alternative meal suppliers and we are arranging taster sessions for residents to try these services in the near future.
“We are also hopeful that we will have other external providers doing pop-ups at the site throughout the year, which has proved popular at other schemes where the catering facility has ceased to operate.”
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