FIVE sheltered housing schemes in the Stroud district – including homes in Dursley, Cam and Wotton-under-Edge – will close after councillors approved changes which aim to improve overall provision.

Around 80 homes for elderly people will be disposed of as part of the changes which will see five of Stroud District Council’s 29 sheltered housing schemes shut in the next five years.

This will help fund modernisation and improvements to the remaining sheltered housing in the district.

The shake-up will see homes sold at Dryleaze Court in Wotton-under-Edge, Cambridge House in Dursley, Glebelands in Cam and Ringfield Close and Tanners Piece, Nailsworth.

Dryleaze Court, closing this December, is expected to be the first to close, with the other four expected to shut by January, 2021.

The changes follow an independent report produced by Gloucestershire-based Ark Consultancy last autumn, which found that 80 per cent of sheltered properties in the district were in a good condition, or had the potential to be so once renovated.

These properties will see modernisation take place over the next two to three years.

The other 20 per cent did not meet modern standards and are now set to be decommissioned.

At a housing committee meeting at SDC last Tuesday evening, councillors heard that residents were being supported to find new homes and that some had already successfully relocated.

The meeting heard that the changes would see improvements to the standard of living in sheltered housing which would last for many years.

Dave Milner, sheltered housing project manager, said: “We will be implementing the changes in a timely fashion which will help us to modernise our overall stock. Some sheltered housing will be retained in each of the schemes which are closing. We hope these changes will make it more attractive for people moving into sheltered housing in the next 20 or 30 years and ensure that we have suitable housing to match everybody’s needs.”

Consultations have been carried out with tenants who are being helped by SDC to find new homes.

Mr Milner said the stress and anxiety which the proposals had caused tenants could not be underestimated.

But he said most residents had come to understand why the council were making the changes.

Cllr Mattie Ross (Stonehouse, Labour), chairman of the housing committee, told the meeting: “A lot of hard work has gone into this. There have been concerns about what we are doing because change is never easy, but all that can be done to alleviate any problems and stress is being done.”