Milford Mercury | Local News, Sport & Entertainment

High Court battle looming for council

From the Milford Mercury, first published Friday 23rd May 2003.

PEMBROKESHIRE County Council is facing a High Court battle over claims that it contributed to a care home going to the wall.

Cuffern Manor Nursing and Residential Home near Roch went into receivership several years ago.

Now its former owner, Chris Farr, is suing the county council, claiming that the council was guilty of `misfeasance' in that it did not abide by its own guidelines in its dealings with the home.

The case is scheduled to begin at the High Court in London on June 3, and is expected to last for 20 to 25 days.

Along with damages and costs, the Mercury understands that if the council lost, it would face a bill for a seven-figure sum.

Leader of the council's Labour Group, Cllr Joyce Watson, said she would be demanding to know why she had not been told of the case, and what the council's position was with regard to insurance.

"I am a senior councillor, leader of the opposition, and a member of the elderly and infirm scrutiny committee, but I have to learn about this from the Mercury, and that greatly concerns me" said Cllr Watson.

"This is definitely something members should know about, though not necessarily be involved in, because it clearly has the potential to cost the council a huge amount of money.

"I want to make it clear that I'm not pre-empting the outcome of the case but we should certainly have been informed because of any knock-on effect on budgets.

"Everything is done on a need-to-know basis, and I want to know why they think we don't need to know. They think we don't need to know anything, no matter how important it is."

Cabinet member with responsibility for the elderly, Cllr Bill Hitchings, refused to comment on the case.

Asked to confirm that he did in fact know of the case, Cllr Hitchings said we had to go to the council's press office and put the phone down.

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