How pleased everyone must have been to hear the firm assurance that Elmcroft Residential Home for the Elderly in Croft Avenue, Southwick, is not to be closed by West Sussex County Council.

Senior county officials who were at a recent, well-attended public meeting in the Barn Hall, Southwick, went a long way towards allaying the natural and acute anxieties of residents and their families.

The proposal was to sell (or give over) Elmcroft to a charitable or private enterprise under strict covenants.

Those would include leasehold rather than freehold transfer; absolute security for present residents and staff now and in the future and a careful study of forward plans for improvements to be submitted by new owners before completion of any contracts.

Amazingly, we heard that, because of overheads and Government involvement, a private operator could run Elmcroft at half the cost the council has to find without sacrificing any standards.

Indeed, the standards may well be improved under private management.

The council promised full consultation with residents and families at each stage of the process.

-Robert Dunn and Jim Funnell, Conservative councillors, Hillside and Eastbrook wards