Norfolk County Council will reclaim Burman House care home in Terrington St John after it closes

Norfolk County Council will explore options on how to use a care home building when it closes down later this year.

Last month, it was announced that Burman House Residential Home in Terrington St John will close in December - with a petition calling for it to remain open so far gathering more than 900 signatures.

People have been urging Norse Care, which runs the home, to keep it open.

The Lynn News has now had it confirmed that the county council owns the building and leases it to Norse Care, although the decision to close Burman House is not down to the council.

However, it remains to be seen whether the building will be used to house another care home.

A county council spokesperson said Norse Care “will hand it back to us once their lease ends now that they have decided to close the facility”.

They added: “Once it has been returned to us, we will look into options for future usage of the site.”

Following the closure announcement, one member of staff raised concerns over residents being transferred to new homes, claiming that some “wouldn’t survive” the move.

West Norfolk borough councillor Alex Kemp has also voiced worries, and has called on the county council to try and retain the care home.

She raised the matter at a cabinet meeting today - but in an email response seen by the Lynn News, a senior councillor told her that the Burman House closure “will not cause instability in the West Norfolk Care market”.

Norse Care said the main reasons for closing the home are the “growing complexity” of care required by its residents and the fact that current room sizes are inadequate for delivering complex care.